With organisations planning strategy to navigate the year ahead, we’re taking a deep dive into some of the future threat trends that PureCyber’s expert threat analysts have identified during the final quarter of 2024 – looking forward to what potential cyber threats you and your organisation should stay vigilant for in 2025.

Future Threat Trends for 2025

AI Driven Cyber Attacks:

Increasing use of AI in cyber-crime: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more advanced and accessible; cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to enhance their attacks. AI-powered tools will automate tasks like identifying vulnerabilities, creating more sophisticated phishing campaigns, and launching automated attacks against a wide array of targets. 

Example: A major financial institution fell victim to an AI-driven spear-phishing campaign where deepfake videos of C-level executives were used to manipulate employees into transferring millions of dollars. 

AI utilisation is expected to continue to excel in 2025 with adoption taking place across various sectors and becoming increasingly prevalent in society from both a business and personal perspective.

Phishing Attacks & Credential Harvesting:

Phishing remains the most common attack vector for compromising Office 365 accounts. Attackers craft convincing emails that mimic Microsoft or legitimate internal communications, luring users into clicking malicious links. 

Example: A phishing email impersonating Microsoft support instructed users to reset their passwords, redirecting them to a fake Microsoft 365 login page where credentials were stolen.

One of the best ways to improve your organisations defence against potential phishing attacks is to invest in staff cyber awareness training and regular phishing simulations to ensure your employees are aware of what to look out for so they can identify, report and avoid potential phishing attacks effectively.   

Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) & Triple Extortion:

Ransomware Continues to Evolve: Ransomware groups are continuing to innovate and adapt, leveraging Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) models to recruit affiliates and expand their reach. Triple extortion - which includes encryption of data, the threat of leaking stolen data, and launching DDoS attacks - will become more common.

Supply Chain Attacks Intensify:

Targeting of Software Supply Chains: Attackers are increasingly focusing on the software supply chain to compromise multiple organisations through a single point of failure. Third-party vendors and open-source software repositories will be primary targets, as these provide pathways to breach a large number of organisations through compromised updates.

Brute Force Attacks:

Microsoft 365 continues to be a major target for cyber criminals due to its widespread use in businesses and organisations around the world.

PureCyber offers 24/7 managed SOC services to safeguard your organisation by continuously monitoring networks, infrastructures and critical services (including Microsoft 365 services); defending against a wide range of cyber threats and attacks - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Cloud and Multi-Cloud Security Risks:

Cloud Misconfigurations: As cloud adoption accelerates, especially multi-cloud environments, organisations can understandably struggle with proper configuration and security management of these new ecosystems. Misconfigured cloud resources like exposed databases or storage buckets will continue to be a primary attack vector.

Emerging Cryptojacking and Financial Crimes:

Cryptojacking: As a result of the growing value of cryptocurrencies, our SOC analysts have observed an increasing risk of cryptojacking (hijacking a system’s resources to mine cryptocurrencies) with an expectation that cryptocurrency related vulnerabilities will continue to rise in 2025. Attackers are using malware to covertly infect servers, cloud instances, and IoT devices for illicit mining operations.

Cyber-Espionage and Nation-State Threats:

Nation-State Cyber Warfare: The already volatile geopolitical landscape will likely continue to influence cyber-attacks in 2025, with nation-state actors increasingly targeting rival governments, defence contractors, and critical infrastructure. Cyber-espionage will remain a top priority for countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, particularly around intellectual property theft and surveillance.

Quantum Computing Threats:

Quantum Computing’s Potential to Break Encryption: Quantum computing poses a significant long-term threat to current encryption standards. Though still in its nascent stage, nation-state actors and cybercriminal groups are already preparing for a post-quantum world by attempting to crack encryption algorithms and prepare for quantum computing's mainstream adoption. Whether or not we will see any significant advancement in quantum computing and its potential influence on the threat landscape soon is yet to be seen, however this is definitely a developing area for security teams to monitor going forward…

PureCyber Talks - Join Our Upcoming Webinar:

With a whole year of new threats potentially on the horizon, it’s never too early to take the appropriate steps towards a safe cyber security posture for your organisation. However, cyber security requires planning and strategy, and without the appropriate guidance or roadmap organisations can often struggle to know where to begin and become overwhelmed. In these cases, it may be that you would find value in one of the many governance frameworks and certifications available to help you work your way through the entire cyber security checklist.

One of the easiest certifications your organisation can begin working towards today is the UK government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme:

Introduction to Cyber Essentials 2025

Join us for a tell-all webinar designed to help you navigate the ins & outs of Cyber Essentials/CE Plus accreditation and why your organisation should be certified in 2025.

• You’ll gain a clear understanding of Cyber Essentials and its importance - what is it? How easy is it to achieve?

• Learn how Cyber Essentials can help protect your business from most internet-based cyber attacks

• Discover how PureCyber can guide your organisation to implementing the core controls of CE successfully

An unmissable webinar highlighting everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Cyber Essentials…and by attending, you’ll also get access to our free Governance Guide - an all-in-one resource explaining the various accreditations available to you and the value they can provide to your organisation.

Find out more and sign up today!

The Stress-Less Checklist

We’re all too familiar with the pressures of cyber security and understand that behind every business is a team of dedicated individuals working tirelessly to protect their organisations from ever increasing cyber risks. That’s why PureCyber is committed to not only securing your organisation, but also supporting the people who manage its cyber security.

In partnership with Malware Bytes, we've created a seven-part "Stress-less Cyber Security Checklist" to get you started on your cyber security New Years resolution journey.

How Can PureCyber Help?

Our team of cyber security experts are ready to ensure that your systems remain secure throughout 2025, with proactive monitoring, timely patch management, and real-time threat intelligence -  acting as an extension to your internal or outsourced IT, providing you with a comprehensive and reliable cyber department to support you in all aspects of your security efforts, including: 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) services, infrastructure testing, MDR & EDR monitoring, threat exposure & brand protection services, and governance support (Cyber Essentials, IASME 27001, ISO27001).

Keep an eye on our Events & Webinars page for upcoming PureCyber events

Get in touch or book in a call for more information on Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, and how we can safeguard your business with our expert cyber security solutions.

Email: info@purecyber.com

Call: 0800 368 9397