33 billion. That’s how many accounts were breached in 2023, with over 800,000 cyber attacks in total. The third quarter of 2024 saw a 75% increase in cyber attacks compared to the same period in 2023. All of this tells us that cyber-attacks are only growing in numbers, making it essential for businesses to stay ahead, aware, and prepared for different types of cybersecurity threats.
This blog will go through the types of cyber attacks your business should watch out for in 2025.
What are Cyber Attacks?
A cyber attack is orchestrated to intentionally alter, steal, expose, destroy, or disable applications, data, or other assets by compromising unauthorized access to a digital device, computer system, or network.
Cyber attacks can range from petty theft to more serious acts of cyber warfare, with varying impacts on individuals, organizations, and even nations.
Attackers use various tactics such as social engineering scams, password attacks, and malware attacks to access their target’s systems and networks without authorization. The average cost of a single data breach in the US is USD 4.88 million. Therefore, cyber attacks have the power to disrupt, damage, and destroy businesses.
Top 6 Cybersecurity Threats in 2025
Let’s explore the top cybersecurity threats businesses should be aware of and prepared for in the coming year.
1. Phishing Attacks
One of the most prevalent among current cyber attacks, phishing attacks happen when an attacker maliciously sends emails that seem as if they are coming from a legitimate or trusted source or person. This is done in an attempt to gain confidential information from the person to whom the email is sent. The term ‘phishing’ comes from ‘fishing’, which implies that the attacker is trying to fish for access to sensitive data or confidential information by employing the ‘bait’ of a seemingly trustworthy source or entity.
In 2023, almost nine million phishing attacks were detected worldwide, and in the first quarter of 2024, almost one million unique phishing sites were detected worldwide.
To execute a phishing attack, the attacker usually sends malicious links in an email that brings you to fraudulent websites, influences you to download malware or files with viruses or forces you to share sensitive information. At first, the target may not realize that their security has been compromised. This enables the attacker to continue the attack on other people in the organization before anyone suspects malicious activity.
Phishing attacks can be prevented easily by being cautious with the emails you open and the links you click on.
2. Insider Threats
Often, the most malicious actors operate within the organization to create cybersecurity threats. This happens because your organization’s personnel have access to sensitive information and data, systems, and networks. In some cases, they can make critical changes to information and security protocols if they have administrative privileges.
People within the organization also have a thorough understanding of the security infrastructure set up to respond to cybersecurity threats. Such knowledge can be used to deduce the best time to execute a cybersecurity attack and change security settings.
There are a few ways in which you can prevent insider threats. However, one of the most efficient ways is to impose restrictions on access to sensitive information or limit it to the employees who need it to perform their duties. For employees with access to such information, introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) as added security.
3. Whale-Phishing Attacks
A whale-phishing attack is a type of phishing attack that targets the ‘big fish’ or important personnel in an organization. These usually include board members, executives, C-suites, or others in charge of the organization. Such personnel possess highly confidential, sensitive, and valuable information to cyber attackers. The information can relate to the business’s financial records and its operations.
If such individuals are targeted, they may be forced to pay a ransom to prevent such news from spreading and affecting the organization’s public image and brand reputation. To prevent whale-phishing attacks, it is important to practice caution as with phishing attacks and be careful about which emails you open, files you download, and links you click. Examine the emails that you receive and the files that are attached. If you find anything suspicious about the sender or email, immediately report it to your IT team.
4. DoS and DDoS Attacks
A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is among the most prevalent cybersecurity threats. It overwhelms a system’s resources and renders it inoperable to respond to legitimate requests for service. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is similar; however, it also drains the system’s resources. The attacker uses numerous host machines infected by malware to execute a DDoS attack. The term ‘denial-of-service’ arises from the fact that the site under attack is not able to provide services to those who are requesting them.
In a DoS attack, the site is flooded with illegitimate requests. In its quest to respond to all of these requests, the site’s resources are drained, and it is unable to operate normally and respond to legitimate requests. This often results in a complete shutdown of the site.
DoS and DDoS attacks differ from other types of cyber attacks that enable the attacker to obtain sensitive information and confidential data through the attacks. DoS and DDoS are executed to interrupt the effectiveness of the site and its services. Such attacks benefit the attacker directly and may be executed by business competitors as interruption of their competitor’s effective service can lead to financial gains.
5. Spear-Phishing Attacks
Spear phishing is another form of phishing attack. In this case, the attacker takes the time to research the individual or organization it is targeting to ensure that the email is personalized and relevant. Given the nature of honing the message to target one specific individual or organization, such attacks are known as ‘spear-phishing’ attacks. The message seems trustworthy and legitimate, making it difficult for the target to spot any suspicious activity or malicious intent.
A spear-phishing attack uses email spoofing, where the sender’s email is fake, making it seem as if the email is coming from a different sender. The sender’s email can be of someone the target trusts, such as a business partner, someone within their circle, or a close friend. Some attackers may also clone a website to make the email seem even more legitimate. The target cannot spot that the website is illegitimate and enter their private information.
6. Ransomware
In a ransomware attack, the attacker holds the victim’s system hostage and demands a ransom for its release. Once the victim is forced to pay the ransom, the attacker directs them on how to gain access to the system back. The attack is termed ‘ransomware’ because the malware demands the victim pay a ransom.
The target usually unknowingly downloads such ransomware from a website or as an attachment in an email. The malware is such that it exploits the vulnerabilities of your security infrastructure that have escaped your IT team.
In 2023, there were over 317 million attempted ransomware attacks, with 4,500-5,000 confirmed successful attacks. However, some experts estimate the true number of successful attacks may have been closer to 10,000.
A ransomware attack can be executed either on a single system, multiple systems, or on a central server that is critical for business operations. An attacker is able to orchestrate a multi-system ransomware attack by waiting for a few days or weeks after the ransomware initially penetrates several systems.
Conclusion
Securing your business against cyber security threats in the coming years has become an operational necessity for all businesses. This is particularly important for those businesses that lack the resources to recover from cyber-attacks. AI-powered defenses, investing in employee training, and adopting a zero-trust framework are some of the most common and effective ways to mitigate potential risks. While security threats and attacks may evolve with time, a proactive and layered approach ensures you’re resilient, adaptive, and ahead of cyber attacks, safeguarding your business assets.
Stay Ahead of Cybersecurity Threats with Imagine IT
Our dedicated team of cyber security specialists and IT service management has built Security Shield to provide your organization with a thorough, enterprise-level cybersecurity strategy designed considering the unique needs of small to medium-sized organizations.
Our Security Shield enables you to focus on your business operations while it anticipates cybersecurity threats, safeguards your business operations, and ensures business continuity. Contact us today to unlock comprehensive IT services in Bloomington, Wichita, Sterling, Zeeland, and Garden City.
To discuss your IT requirements, call 866.978.3600 (toll-free) and let our experts guide you!
