As we enter 2025, the digital landscape of cyber security threats continues to evolve, bringing exciting opportunities and significant challenges. Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and being informed and prepared is crucial for organizations large and small. This week, we will break down threats 10-6 so you can begin self-evaluating your readiness for the year ahead.
10. Insider Threats: Security Risks from Within
Insider threats, whether due to malicious intent or negligence, pose significant risks to organizations. Employees, contractors, and former staff with access to sensitive information may inadvertently or deliberately cause data breaches. Remember that while bad actors can purposefully do significant damage, it is even more likely that simple human error will be the cause.
Your organization must have a firm access control policy, limiting access to critical information to only those who need it for their job functions. Use tools to monitor user activity, identifying unusual behavior or access patterns. Provide security training to all employees to educate them on data handling and recognize potential insider threats.
Insider cyber security threats are a serious problem, but following good policies and procedures can go a long way to help.
Consistent exit protocols should ensure that departing employees have their access revoked promptly, and exit interviews should be conducted to identify potential issues. A recent example of two disgruntled ex-employees exposing personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, and social security numbers, happened at Tesla.
9. Cloud Cyber Security Threats: Risks in an Expanding Cloud Environment
As more organizations move their operations to the cloud, security concerns related to cloud infrastructure are increasing. Misconfigured cloud settings, insecure API endpoints, and inadequate access controls leave businesses vulnerable to data breaches and unauthorized access.
To head off this vulnerability, regularly audit cloud settings to ensure proper configuration, identify any vulnerabilities, and encrypt all sensitive data in transit and at rest within cloud environments. Your organization should also use Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions to control user access, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access specific resources.
As with other cyber threats, deploy continuous monitoring for cloud services to detect any suspicious activity in real time.
Toyota had to apologize following a 2023 cloud misconfiguration incident.
8. Supply Chain Security Threats: Exploiting Third-Party Vulnerabilities
Supply chain attacks become significant cyber security threats as businesses rely more on external vendors and partners. In these attacks, threat actors infiltrate a company’s system by compromising a third-party provider, gaining access to multiple organizations through one vulnerability.
Prepare for this threat by conducting thorough security assessments for all vendors and partners to identify potential vulnerabilities, including cyber security requirements in vendor contracts to ensure high-security standards and isolating critical systems from external partners to prevent attackers from moving freely within your network. Real-time monitoring should be used to track vendor activity and detect any unusual behavior early.
No sector is immune to any of these threats. The blood supply to over 250 hospitals in the Southeast was severely disrupted in July and August.
7. Data Privacy Regulations and Compliance Risks
As data privacy regulations expand, the complexity of compliance for organizations handling personal data is growing. Non-compliance can lead to legal consequences, financial penalties, and reputational damage. The stakes for data breaches are higher than ever. Protecting personal information is vital for all your stakeholders.
Prioritize data protection by using strong passwords, encrypting sensitive information, and knowing which apps and services can access your data. Implementing strong encryption, regular audits, and employee training on data handling practices are critical to safeguarding sensitive information. Collect only the data you need and establish retention policies to reduce exposure. Also, ensure that you comply with data privacy laws in the areas where you operate, federal and possibly international.
If you think that Cyber Insurance is the easy answer, think again. Costs and policy exclusions are rising, even if you can obtain or renew coverage. Cyber Insurance can help mitigate damage but it doesn’t address cyber security threats!
6. Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Business Email Compromise has been an ongoing threat for years because it is so lucrative and often far too easy for cyber criminals to pull off. Cyber criminals can use phishing emails to trick employees into divulging sensitive information, like login credentials or financial information. These emails may appear from a trusted source, such as an executive, bank, or supplier, and may use social engineering techniques to persuade the recipient to take action. Criminals can also use malware, such as viruses or trojans, to infect a user’s computer and gain access to their email accounts. Once installed, the malware can steal login credentials or capture sensitive information from the user’s computer. Weak passwords also create vulnerabilities. If employees use weak, reused, or easily guessable passwords, cybercriminals can use brute-force attacks to guess the password and gain access to the email account.
Once cybercriminals gain access to a business email account, they can use it to send phishing emails or other types of spam, steal sensitive information, or use the account to launch attacks against other employees or the company’s systems. To protect against these threats, organizations should regularly train employees to identify and avoid phishing emails. Spam filters, software, and cyber security systems must be updated. Finally, employees should be encouraged to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication. This is an excellent example of potential human error that can be prevented with rigorous compliance.
Small and large municipalities can be especially appealing targets for this type of scam. For an example involving a misdirected vendor payment, look at this example from Utah.
Read more here for an even larger loss involving the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and a local nonprofit.
Your organization doesn’t have to face these cyber security threats alone. Commonwealth Sentinel can evaluate your existing IT security and work with your team to improve it. We provide a wide range of cyber security services to help keep your organization running securely. At Commonwealth Sentinel, we stay focused on cyber security so you can focus on other things. Contact us today or sign up for a free consultation.
Next week, we will bring you the top five cybersecurity threats in 2025.
Merry Christmas!