WatchGuard Technologies, a global leader in unified cybersecurity, has unveiled its highly anticipated 2025 Cybersecurity Predictions, based on its own threat intelligence and market analysis. This year’s predictions highlight the evolving threat landscape, focusing on the increasing sophistication of AI-driven attacks, long-con cybercrime strategies, and the critical need for innovative defences in operational technology (OT).

“This year, we’ve noted how cybercriminals are becoming increasingly adept at leveraging advanced technologies to launch innovative attacks,” said Corey Nachreiner, Chief Security Officer at WatchGuard Technologies. “In 2025, the cybersecurity landscape will demand a proactive, unified approach to defend against threats that are not only growing in complexity, but also becoming more accessible to bad actors through automation and AI advancements.”

Marc Laliberte, Director of Security Operations at WatchGuard, added: “From malicious use of multimodal AI to expanded supply chain compromises and the evolving challenges faced by CISOs, our predictions highlight areas where organisations and security teams must focus their efforts in 2025 to stay ahead of the curve.”

Key Predictions for 2025 Include:

The Rise of Multimodal AI in Cybercrime: Multimodal AI systems capable of integrating text, images, voice, and code will enable attackers to automate the entire cyberattack chain, from profiling targets and crafting phishing campaigns to deploying malware and exfiltrating stolen data.

Supply Chain Long-Cons Become the Norm: Threat actors will increasingly adopt long-term infiltration strategies, targeting lesser-known software dependencies to exploit vulnerabilities while maintaining a façade of legitimacy.

Operational Technology Relies on AI Defences: The convergence of OT and IT systems will drive cybersecurity teams to deploy AI-powered anomaly detection to protect critical infrastructure and reduce dependency on complex, protocol-specific defensive measures.

CISO Burnout and Industry-Wide Impacts: With growing regulatory pressures and personal accountability, the role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) will face increased challenges, potentially widening the cybersecurity skills gap.

Law Enforcement Makes Meaningful Gains: Enhanced collaboration between intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and private organisations will disrupt threat actors, increasing the cost and difficulty of executing cyberattacks.

Exploiting GenAI Disillusionment: As GenAI enters a phase of scepticism, bolstered by the use of video and audio deep fakes and numerous highly publicised gaffes, cybercriminals will exploit underestimated advancements in AI, combining them with other tactics to deceive organisations and consumers.