Your Cybersecurity Strategy for 2025

By James Rees, MD, Razorthorn Security

From 2020 to 2024, cybersecurity underwent a transformative period that reshaped the industry. This era witnessed several significant high profile security breaches, whilst the World Economic Forum recognised cybersecurity as one of the top ten threats to global economic stability. We observed a marked increase in state sponsored cyber attacks – though officially denied by various nations – and saw widespread acknowledgement of the need for robust cybersecurity legislation and frameworks suitable for our modern world. The cybersecurity landscape during these four years was unprecedented in its complexity and scope.

Key Industry Priorities for 2025

Through my work on the Razorwire podcast over the past year, I have had the privilege of engaging with numerous industry experts, discussing both our history and future trajectory. These conversations, spanning both industry developments and cybersecurity’s role as a critical organisational function worldwide, have helped form several key insights.

• Organisations must reassess their defence in depth approach, with particular focus on security tools and solutions.
• Security needs elevation to board level discussions through meaningful risk management practices.
• Businesses need to transition from passive to active defence strategies to better counter emerging threats.
• Supply chain security and third party provider management require comprehensive oversight and continuous monitoring.
• Threat intelligence gathering and continuous security testing are key to maintaining effective defence capabilities.
• Incident response war gaming must be prioritised to ensure organisations can respond effectively to security incidents.
• Cybersecurity is now a mandatory customer requirement, rather than optional considerations.

These priorities emerged consistently from conversations with industry leaders including security professionals, vendors and technology entrepreneurs. Their insights reflect organisations’ growing recognition of cybersecurity’s importance, particularly as 2024 brought significant technological advances and regulatory changes.

The digital landscape continues to evolve, with cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated. Cybercriminals constantly develop new tactics for system infiltration and data theft, driving demand for more advanced security solutions.

Technology and Regulatory Evolution

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a transformative force in cybersecurity. AI-enabled systems now predict potential threats, identify vulnerabilities and respond to attacks more swiftly than human operators. Machine learning algorithms detect unusual patterns or behaviours that might indicate a cyberattack.

Blockchain technology has also played a crucial role in enhancing cybersecurity by providing a decentralised, transparent method for storing data. This makes it difficult for hackers to tamper with information, ensuring data integrity and fostering trust amongst users.

From 2021 to 2024, organisations shifted towards zero trust security models. This approach assumes no user or device is trustworthy by default, even within an organisation’s network, requiring strict identity verification for everyone attempting to access private network resources.

Global privacy regulations have significantly influenced cybersecurity evolution in the last year. Laws such as GDPR and CCPA have forced companies to prioritise data protection efforts or face severe penalties, with DORA and NIS2 introducing additional requirements in 2025.

Companies have significantly increased investment in employee cybersecurity training, recognising that human error remains a main cause of data breaches. Regular security awareness training is becoming much more deeply embedded in corporate culture.

These developments have made 2024 a landmark year for cybersecurity evolution. The advancements have not only strengthened protection against cyberattacks but have fundamentally reshaped how businesses approach data security and privacy, a transformation that will continue in the coming years.

The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve alongside our increasing reliance on digital technologies. Businesses must stay ahead of cyber threats and regularly update their security strategies. The lessons learned from 2024 will undoubtedly guide these efforts in future.

The Mental Health Crisis in Security Management

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of modern information security is the deteriorating mental health of our cybersecurity professionals. I recorded a Razorwire podcast episode discussing industry burnout with Yanya Viskovich and Eve Parmiter, which was our most watched video on YouTube for 2024, achieving over 21,000 views, with many more across audio-based podcast platforms. I have received countless messages from burnt out security professionals asking for advice, their mental health and relationships severely strained by the ‘always on duty’ nature of our profession.

The stories are heartbreaking. One security professional had to abandon his family holiday to address a security incident, leaving his three young children in tears. His employer, in his words, ‘didn’t give a sh*t where he was or what he was doing but to get back.’ Equally disturbing are accounts of parents missing children’s birthdays and even the births of their children due to security emergencies. This situation is untenable, and we must seriously reconsider how we manage information security moving forward.

It’s no big news that the cybersecurity industry faces a significant skills gap. Whilst there are numerous new entrants to the field, we have very few security professionals with the depth of experience the job market demands. It will take time for them to get up to speed and get the experience needed to effectively protect our digital assets.

The year 2024 marked a turning point for cybersecurity. Although demand for skilled professionals had been steadily increasing, this year brought a seismic shift. The surge in cybercrime, combined with increasing digitalisation across all sectors, made experienced security experts more crucial than ever. This shortage of skilled professionals will only intensify pressure on the more experienced practitioners.

Looking ahead to 2025, we need fundamental changes in how we manage information security, particularly regarding mental health support. Organisations with significant stakes in digital systems and data must address the stress and burnout their security professionals face. This should include both professional mental health support programmes and mandatory downtime policies to prevent burnout.

In Conclusion

As we move into 2025, cybersecurity will evolve beyond traditional methods, emphasising proactive rather than reactive measures. This transformation will rely heavily on AI technology to detect potential threats and vulnerabilities before they become a problem.

The rapid evolution of technology will bring new cyber threats, as criminals exploit emerging technologies and find innovative ways to breach security systems. Organisations must therefore continuously update their security measures and strategies to stay ahead.

AI and machine learning will aid in enabling faster threat identification and response than ever before. These technologies will learn from previous attacks, identify patterns, predict potential threats and respond effectively.

Addressing the expanding threat landscape will require increased collaboration between businesses, governments and cybersecurity firms. Collective knowledge sharing is crucial for staying one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Cybersecurity training and education will also undergo significant change. As threats grow more complex, security practitioners must continuously develop their skills to meet these challenges, with greater emphasis on ongoing learning and professional development.

The mental wellbeing of cybersecurity professionals remains a critical concern. Providing adequate support networks for these professionals should be a top priority for organisations.

In summary, we anticipate an evolved cybersecurity landscape characterised by advanced technologies, increased collaboration, continuous professional development and improved mental health support for practitioners managing high stress situations. Our challenge lies not only in keeping up with these advancements but in proactively shaping them to enhance data protection whilst safeguarding the wellbeing of our security professionals.

Join us for more cybersecurity insights on the Razorwire podcast.

Get in touch to discuss how Razorthorn can help with your cybersecurity requirements.