According to IBM, the global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88 million—an increase of 10 percent over 2023 and the highest total ever.
Over the last forty-nine years, I've witnessed many technological advances. It seems like yesterday when my father brought home a Tandy computer. Now, every home has multiple devices—from computers to smart phones to IoT devices.
The internet has evolved from a way to share information between researchers to what it is today. Most everyone has multiple email addresses and some form of social media—we are all connected all the time.
We even have self-driving cars and technology that was only possible in science fiction movies from my youth!
Herein lies the problem. With all these wonderful advances in technology also comes more ways for bad actors to steal your data—and your money.
One of the most important things any leader can do to help protect their business is to stay informed.
Below are three emerging cyberthreats for 2025, along with tips for how to protect your organization.
Ransomware
What It Is: Malicious software that encrypts your data until the ransom has been paid to release the data.
Why Ransomware Matters: It can cause major financial loss to an organization, whether from the ransom itself, from loss of production time, or a combination of the two.
Current Trend: Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS). This trend has lowered the barrier for attackers. With RaaS, a would-be attacker no longer has to develop their own code to attack your organization, but instead buys ransomware code from other hackers. Click here to learn more.
Protective Measures: There are several things you can do to help protect your business. First and foremost, educate your employees. Security training is not just a check in the box; it plays a very important role.
Keep your systems up to date.
Back up your data regularly and keep it offsite or in the cloud.
Enable MFA for all accounts.
You must have more than just endpoint protection (e.g., antivirus). Consider adding a security operations center (SOC) monitor to your tech stack.
All of the above are the minimum protective measures you should consider as buffers against a ransomware attack.
Phishing
What It Is: Sending emails or other messages that pretend to be from someone they are not. The goal is to obtain personal information such as passwords or financial information.
Why It Matters: No matter who you are or how big or small your organization is, no one immune.
Current Trend: Use of artificial intelligence to create realistic phishing emails targeting executives.
Protective Measures: Educate employees regularly, enable MFA, invest in a proper email security with properly configured anti-phishing tools, and promote the use of a good password manager so employees do not keep passwords written down.
Insider Threats
What It Is: Negligent actions by employees, contractors, or partners.
Why It Matters: These threats are harder to detect and have the potential to cause significant damage.
Current Trend: Since the pandemic, the emergence of “quiet quitting,” where employees reduce their effort and disengage from their roles, has become more common, resulting in possible compromised security.
Protective Measures: Include the usual measures: educate employees with proper security training, enable MFA, develop clear security policies, and monitor third-party access.
Also, since this threat is not entirely technical, you should take care of your employees and provide a positive working environment. This will keep your employees happy and reduce burnout.
If an employee leaves the company, conduct an exit interview. Really interview them and see if their leaving could have been prevented or if there are any issues that need to be addressed that may affect other employees.
Conclusion
Staying informed about current (and emerging!) cybersecurity threats and trends allows you and your organization to be better prepared.
Educating your employees, maintaining strong relationships with whoever oversees your security and IT operations, and being proactive can also help reduce risk.
I would encourage every CXO to regularly assess your current security posture to identify any areas of improvement and make any necessary changes or updates to help protect against emerging threats.
And remember: WYRE always helps!