Hidden Dangers of 2025: How Geopolitical Tensions Are Fueling Cyber Threats

The concern raised in the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 is the growing awareness that emerging geopolitical trends significantly impact cybersecurity, with 60% of organizations determining that they are seriously affected in their cybersecurity strategy with the rising tensions. CEO fears of theft were quite high; 29% worried about cyber espionage and 17% about the theft of sensitive IP: the number one concern among business executives was damage to their image resulting from cyber-attacks and theft. The report claims further that cyber threats cannot be wide: as cyberviolence increases, global terrorism and, in particular, other domestic terrorism tactics will probably intensify. With unclear digital borders, the effect of geopolitical upheavals goes beyond national security. Disruption to operations and business processes ranked first in the catalog of concerns; 45% of cyber leaders saw this happening when they thrashed about in the darkness of security. The complexity introduced by interdependent supply chains further exacerbates this issue, as 54% of large organizations identified supply chain vulnerabilities as the top barrier to achieving cyber resilience.

“The transformative potential of AI technologies presents both unprecedented risks and unmatched opportunities for cybersecurity. As organizations race to adopt AI, cybercriminals are moving at breakneck speed to exploit vulnerabilities while enhancing the efficacy of their methods. This is a call to action, and the time to act is now.”

– Paolo Dal Cin, Global Security Lead, Accentur

The report underscores the urgent need for organizations to adopt a security-first mindset in response to these evolving threats. Moreover, organizations must increasingly develop adaptive strategies that really strengthen their defense, as the technologies and tactics used by the criminals modernize. This paves the way for a new wave of cyber-attacks which is more sophisticated and insidious than ever. Such an approach must necessarily not only involve hard-hitting security measures but collaboration between the government and private sectors. The widening skill gap is making the challenge quite tougher in this balance. With two-thirds of the organizations claiming significant talent shortage issues – from moderate to critical – it also increases the urgency to learn and upscale the workforce. In 2025, organizations need to build an ecosystem capable of navigating this complexity while keeping in mind what’s hiding just behind the corner with ever-improving cyber threats and thrashing them all to save their own digital playgrounds.