5 Cyber Threat Trends You Should Know
Earlier this week, we shared CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report which identified five (5) cyber threat trends that you should know. While cyber-fatigue is real, understanding the threat landscape helps you assess your risks and security posture and make informed decisions on how to prioritize security-related spending and investment.
5 Cyber Threat Trends
Here are the 5 cyber threat trends you should know.
1 China on the Rise
Cyber attacks originating in China – both nation-state and organized crime – jumped 130% over the prior 12 months. At the enterprise-level, China-nexus attackers focus on telecommunication systems. For most businesses, the increase in attacks on unmanaged devices should be of concern.
Unmanaged devices lack detection and response capabilities that allow attackers to lurk, monitor, and capture credentials for greater access to your systems, applications, and data.
2 Hands-On-Keyboard Attacks are Making a Comeback
The best way for cyber attackers to avoid modern malware protection, such next-gen endpoint protection and managed detection and response (MDR) services, is for the attacker or a surrogate to use the keyboard. These manual, interactive attacks are up 27% over the prior year.
We may imagine hands–on-keyboard attacks as movie-like scenarios of corporate spies posing as custodians sneaking onto computers while avoiding the security guards making their rounds. In reality, the hands-on-attack may be your employee responding to somebody they think is IT support or a vendor helping them solve a problem.
3 Rapid Ransomware Reach
The speed at which cyber attackers can launch ransomware attacks after an initial breach is accelerating. From breach to spread, attacks are up to 32% faster than previously known.
This speed gives cybersecurity systems less time to identify behaviors and patterns that identify the cyber attack, weakening the effectiveness of the protections.
4 AI for Evil
With the help of AI, certain types of cyber attacks have jumped 220% over the prior year. Cyber attackers are using generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) technologies to power more-effective attacks.
Using GenAI, attackers create more realistic fakes – emails, documents, phone calls, and videos – to trigger responses and reactions that enable and facilitate access and breaches.
At the same time, cyber attackers are using security vulnerabilities in the platforms and tools businesses use to build AI agents, just as they use vulnerabilities in web, application, and office productivity platforms.
5 Cloud Attacks Gain Altitude
Cloud intrusions – successful cyber attacks on cloud systems and services – jumped 136% during the first half of 2025 compared to all of 2024. These attacks vector through compromised identities, improper security configurations, API vulnerabilities, lax security and permissions governance.
Steps You Can Take
To ensure your security footprint protects your business appropriately:
- Conduct IT and Security Assessments that benchmark your security posture.
- Prioritize your risks based on the nature and size of your business, industry standards and expectations, and regulatory requirements.
- Level our Security CPR® model and managed services to plan, prioritize, and implement appropriate security and business resilience solutions that:
- Address your prioritized risks as your budget allows
- Protect from the most common and the most damaging/costly types of attacks.
We Will Help
Plan Now; Act Soon. Our Cloud Advisors are here to assist. We will:
- Review your current systems and services and prioritize your risks.
- Help you prioritize, plan, and budget for security changes and improvements that may be necessary or preferred
- Deploy and co-manage your security solutions to keep you protected.
Schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors now to begin your security review and improvements.
About the Author
Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global. Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.
