Navigating the Ever-Evolving Threat Landscape By Glen Williams, CEO, Cyberfort
Cyber Defense e-Magazine (https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com/ ) – January 2025 Edition
As we look ahead to 2025, the world of cyber security is set to undergo significant changes. Attackers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated with the use of AI, making phishing emails even more convincing and enabling the daunting creation of cloned personal identities.
This shift from traditional identity theft to much more complex techniques poses new challenges on both individuals and businesses. Additionally, the landscape of identity and permissions management is evolving, underscoring the importance of a proactive and comprehensive approach to cyber security. This includes leveraging advanced technology, maintaining continuous monitoring, and fostering a strong culture of security awareness within organisations.
By understanding these emerging threats and preparing accordingly, we can better protect our organisations and ensure a safer digital future. But what will those key trends be as we enter 2025 and how we can all stay ahead of the threat in this ever-changing digital world?
Human Error to Increase as Attacks Get “Less Dumb”
In the past six months, we’ve seen an alarming increase in the use of generative AI by attackers, mirroring techniques that achieve 80% success rates in real world testing. This technology is being leveraged to craft highly targeted phishing emails, integrating social media and work personas to deceive recipients more effectively. Additionally, the use of deep fake technologies to clone senior individuals and demand tasks to be completed has become more prevalent. This combined with machine learning will provide attackers with ‘more likely to succeed’ target lists in 2025, which we will then start to see offered at a premium through marketplaces and associate programs. As attacks become more sophisticated, the margin for human error will increase, making it crucial for organizations to enhance their security measures and training programs.
Identity Theft to Be Replaced by Cloning
2024 saw a significant rise in the use of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and advanced data tools to create clone identities. This trend is expected to continue into 2025, posing a major challenge for identity verification processes. As these cloned identities grow increasingly comprehensive, verifying legitimacy and ownership will become more challenging. Even traditional challenge-response methods may fail, as both the original and the clone are likely to provide accurate answers. Continuous and rigorous monitoring of identities will be essential to detect and mitigate these threats before they cause harm.
Evolution of Identity and Permissions
The concept of ‘zero trust’ has been a hot topic in cybersecurity discussions. However, most organizations are still in the strategy development stage and have not fully implemented zero trust across their IT environments. Even those that have adopted a zero-trust strategy often have not extended it to their cloud and SaaS environments. As we move into next year, we will start to see hidden permissions assigned manually or explicitly at the account level, becoming an even bigger opportunity for attackers. Attackers will focus on these exceptions, leaving organizations vulnerable despite a 98% success rate in other areas. Moreover, the complexity of modern IT environments, with a blend of on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, adds to the challenge. Organizations must ensure that their zero trust policies are comprehensive and cover all aspects of their IT landscape. This includes continuous monitoring and validation of user identities and access privileges. Additionally, the integration of zero trust with other security frameworks and tools will be crucial in creating a robust defence mechanism. As cyber threats evolve, so must the strategies to counter them, making zero trust an ongoing journey rather than a onetime implementation.
Preparing for the Future
To prepare for these evolving threats, organizations must adopt a proactive approach to cyber security. This includes investing in advanced threat detection technologies, enhancing employee training programs, and continuously monitoring and updating security protocols. The key to staying secure in 2025 will be a combination of advanced technology, continuous monitoring, and a culture of security awareness within organizations. By understanding these predictions and taking proactive steps, organizations can better protect themselves against the sophisticated threats that lie ahead.
