Episode 5: Top 7 Cyber Threats of 2025

Adam Welcome to the deep dive. Okay, so it’s 2025 and trying to keep up with cybersecurity. That what feels a bit like uh maybe drowning sometimes. The sheer number of threats, it can feel overwhelming.

Christina It really can. I mean, the pace attackers are moving at now is just relentless. Things that were, you know, c cutting edge just a year or two ago. They’re standard practice now.

Adam Yeah.

Christina And it keeps changing fast.

Adam Yeah, exactly. Which is why we’re doing this today. We’ve got this report, uh, top seven cyber threats of twenty twenty-five. Now, it’s written mainly for managed service providers, you know, MSPs, the IT folks for other companies. But honestly, the threats they’re talking about, they affect pretty much anyone using tech, which is everyone, right?

Christina Pretty much, yeah.

Adam So our plan today is basically to boil this down, pull out the key things you need to know about what’s coming, what the big risks are. Think of it as uh the essential guide. So where should we start? Threat number one: AI-powered phishing.

Christina Yeah, let’s jump into that. What’s really um concerning here is how generative AI is basically supercharging social engineering. Attackers are using AI to write these incredibly convincing phishing emails, generate deep fake voice messages that sound totally real, and just personalize lures in ways we haven’t really seen before, much more tailored.

Adam So it’s not just the bad grammar emails we used to laugh at. This is like a whole different level.

Christina Oh, completely. These AI methods can slip past a lot of the old email filters, the ones looking for known bad stuff, but maybe more importantly, they’re just better at, you know, manipulating people psychologically. It’s much harder, even if you’re careful, to tell if something’s fake.

Adam Wow. Okay. That’s it’s definitely a step up in threat level. So what does the report say about fighting back against this? What works?

Christina Well, it really pushes for a few key things. First, enhanced behavioral analytics systems that look for weird patterns in communication, not just specific words or links. Okay. Then continuous user training is absolutely vital, but it has to evolve to cover these new AI tricks, making people uh smarter defenders. Right.

Adam The human firewall idea.

Christina Exactly. And finally, using real-time threat intelligence. You need to know about these new AI campaigns basically as they happen to have a chance of blocking them. It’s a layered approach.

Adam Makes sense. Technology and people working together. Okay, so moving on to threat number two: cloud misconfigurations and uh software as a service exploits. Lots of us use things like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace. Yeah. What’s the danger there?

Christina Well, as everyone moves more stuff to the cloud, the um the area attackers can target just gets bigger, right? And the report really highlights attackers hunting for slip-ups in how cloud services are set up, like leaving a setting on default when it shouldn’t be. Simple mistakes, but dangerous. They’re also going after weak spots in APIs, how different software talks to each other and exploiting identity and access controls that maybe haven’t been locked down properly in platforms like M365 or AWS.

Adam It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, oh, it’s in the cloud. Microsoft or Google handles the security. It’s probably not right.

Christina Yeah. That’s a really dangerous assumption. The big providers secure the infrastructure, definitely. But configuring the services on that infrastructure correctly, managing who gets access to what, that’s usually on the customer or their MSP. I see. If you mess up those configurations or access controls, you’re basically leaving the door open, even if the cloud provider’s walls are strong.

Adam Okay. So what’s the fix? How do you shore up those cloud defenses?

Christina The report emphasizes continuous monitoring, things like cloud security posture management, CSPM tools that constantly check for those misconfigurations. Right.

Adam Automation helps.

Christina Definitely. Plus strong identity monitoring, watching closely for any sign of unauthorized access, and just having clear visibility across all your SaaS apps. You need to know what’s connected and how it’s secured.

Adam Got it. Okay, threat number three sounds pretty ominous. Ransomware is a service expansion. Sounds like ransomware is getting like industrialized.

Christina That’s a good way to put it. Yeah. RedNet’s platforms have basically made it easier for less skilled criminals to launch ransomware attacks. They provide the tools, the infrastructure, so you don’t need to be a master hacker anymore. And this has led to, well, more tax, often more targeted. They’re getting in and out faster, shorter dwell times, and demanding bigger ransoms.

Adam And the report points fingers at SMBs, small and medium businesses, as being particularly at risk. Why them specifically?

Christina It often comes down to resources. SMBs typically have, you know, smaller security teams, maybe smaller budgets than big enterprises. That can make them seem like an easier target. And if their MSP isn’t providing really robust protection, a ransomware hit can literally put them out of business. The stakes are incredibly high.

Adam Yeah, absolutely devastating. So defense strategies. What’s crucial against this kind of industrialized ransomware?

Christina Endpoint detection and response EDR is key. It goes way beyond traditional antivirus, looking at behavior on computers. Okay. Also, proactive threat hunting. That means actively looking for threats that might sneak past automated defenses and having solid, well-practiced plans for how to contain an attack immediately if it happens, rapid response is critical.

Adam Right. You need the plan before you need the plan. Okay, next up, threat number four: supply chain and vendor compromises. We’ve definitely heard about some big ones lately.

Christina Absolutely. This is a huge focus. Attackers know that if they can compromise a trusted third party like a software vendor or an MSP or some other IT service, they might get access to all of that vendor’s clients at once. It’s an efficient way for them to attack. The report mentions recent breaches impacting remote management tools, even security companies themselves. It just shows how interconnected everything is.

Adam That’s a bit chilling. The idea that the tools meant to help or protect you could be the way in.

Christina It really underscores the risk in that digital ecosystem. A vulnerability in just one vendor, one link in the chain can ripple outwards and expose a huge number of users.

Adam So how do you defend against that when the threat might come from a trusted partner?

Christina It requires constant vigilance regarding third parties, continuously monitoring their activity in your environment, looking for anything unusual. Integrating threat intelligence feeds specifically about vendor risks into your security monitoring systems, like a sum, is also really important. It helps you connect the dots faster if a vendor gets compromised.

Adam Okay, constant monitoring again seems to be a theme. Threat number five is interesting. Living off the land attacks. What does that mean exactly?

Christina It means attackers are getting smarter about blending in. Instead of bringing their own obvious malware, they use legitimate tools already installed on the target system.

Adam Like what kind of tools?

Christina Standard things that IT admins use every day, like PowerShell, WMI Windows Management Instrumentation, uh remote desktop tools, things that belong there.

Adam So they’re using the system’s own tools against it, hiding in plain sight.

Christina Exactly. And because they aren’t using known malicious files, traditional antivirus software, which often looks for known signatures, might completely miss it.

Adam Sneaky.

Christina Very. It allows them to operate stealthily, sometimes for a long time before being discovered, makes finding them early really, really tough. It’s like uh using the house’s own keys to move around inside.

Adam Yeah, that’s a great analogy. So how do you catch something like that if it looks normal?

Christina This is where more advanced EDR platforms really shine. Ones that use behavioral analytics. They don’t just look for known bad files, they look for legitimate tools being used in weird ways.

Adam Ah, okay. Context is key.

Christina Precisely. Looking for unusual privilege escalations, someone trying to move sideways across the network using normal tools, things that deviate from the established baseline of normal activity. That’s how you spot it.

Adam Right. Understanding normal to spot abnormal. Okay. Threat number six takes us to connected devices, IoT and OT system exploits, Internet of Things, and operational technology.

Christina Yeah, this is a rapidly growing area of concern. Think about all the connected devices, now smart thermostats cameras, medical devices, that’s the IoT side. And then OT systems, the technology controlling industrial processes and manufacturing, energy, logistics. Critical stuff.

Adam Right.

Christina A lot of these devices, frankly, weren’t built with security as the top priority. They often have known vulnerabilities, and attackers are actively targeting them as a way into the broader network.

Adam So these less secure devices become easy entry points.

Christina Potentially, yes. And a big part of the problem is just knowing what devices you even have connected. There’s often a lack of visibility, especially with IoT and OT.

Adam Creates blind spots.

Christina Exactly. If you don’t know it’s there, you can’t secure it. Attackers love those blind spots.

Adam So what are the recommendations for dealing with this IoT OT risk?

Christina First step is discovery. You need tools to find and inventory all connected devices, get that visibility. Okay. Then network segmentation is crucial. Isolating these devices, especially the potentially vulnerable ones, from your main business network limits the damage if one gets compromised.

Adam Makes sense. Contain the blast radius.

Christina Right. And finally, using anomaly detection specifically at the network edge, watching the traffic from these devices for anything suspicious.

Adam Got it. Okay, last one on the list. Threat number seven. Insider threats and credential abuse. This one feels like it’s always been around.

Christina It has, and it’s still a major issue. Insider threats can be malicious and employee intentionally doing harm or accidental, like someone falling for a phishing scam or making a configuration error. Right. But the report highlights compromised credentials, stolen usernames, and passwords as a key element. Combine that with people using unapproved software, shadow IT, or having way more access privileges than they need, it creates big vulnerabilities.

Adam Yeah. It’s tough because the attack can come from someone who already has legitimate access.

Christina Exactly. And credential abuse, where an attacker uses stolen valid credentials, is particularly hard to spot initially because the activity might look legitimate. Clients rightly expect protection against this.

Adam So what are the key defenses against insiders and credential abuse?

Christina User and entity behavior analytics, or UEBA, is really important here. It learns what’s normal behavior for each user and system, then flags significant deviations.

Adam Like the behavioral stuff for living off the land, but focused on users.

Christina Kind of, yeah. There’s also identity threat detection tools, specifically designed to spot compromised accounts or weird login attempts. And fundamentally, enforcing the principle of least privilege is critical.

Adam Meaning?

Christina Meaning people should only have the absolute minimum access they need to do their jobs, nothing more. It drastically limits the damage someone can do, whether they’re malicious or just compromised.

Adam Right, minimizing the opportunity. Well, this has been uh really eliminating. We’ve covered a lot AI phishing, cloud issues, rows, supply chain, living off the land, IoTOT, and insiders. It’s definitely a complex picture for 2025.

Christina It is. The landscape is constantly shifting, and attackers are always innovating. Staying ahead requires that multi-layered, proactive approach we’ve been talking about.

Adam And even though this report was aimed at MSPs, like we said, these threats, they really matter to everyone, individuals and organizations alike. Understanding them is the first step.

Christina Absolutely. Awareness is foundational.

Adam So as we wrap up, maybe a final thought for you listening. Considering everything we’ve just discussed, these evolving sophisticated threats. What’s maybe one concrete thing you could do starting today to improve your own security or your organization’s posture? It’s about taking that knowledge and making it actionable.

Christina Yeah. And remembering it’s not a one time fix, it’s an ongoing process. Keep learning, keep adapting, keep checking those security practices. That’s really the key in this environment.