2025 ransomware predictions, trends, and how to prepare

The Zscaler ThreatLabz research team has released important findings and predictions regarding ransomware trends for 2025. Ransomware Report identified an uptick in the use of sophisticated tactics and extortion attacks. As ransomware remains a key concern for CISOs and CIOs, the report sheds light on actionable strategies to mitigate the risk.

Top Ransomware Predictions for 2025:

● Social engineering based on artificial intelligence. In 2025, GenAI will facilitate voice phishing (vishing) attacks. With the proliferation of GenAI-based tools, primary access brokerage groups will increasingly use AI-generated votes; which sound more and more realistic by using local accents and dialects to increase credibility and success.

● The trinity of social engineering attacks: vishing, ransomware and data theft. Additionally, sophisticated ransomware groups such as the Dark Angels will continue the trend of launching low-scale, high-impact attacks; preferring to focus on a single company, stealing huge amounts of data without encrypting files and evading media and law enforcement attention.

● Targeted industries under threat: Manufacturing, healthcare, education and energy will remain top targets, with the pace of attacks not expected to slow down.

● New SEC Rules Boost Transparency: 2025 will see an increase in reported ransomware attacks and payouts due to new, stricter SEC requirements requiring public companies to report material incidents within four business days.

● Ransomware payouts are on the rise. Ransom demands are likely to increase in 2025 due to the development of an ecosystem of cybercriminal groups that specialize in specific attack tactics, as well as the collaboration of these groups who have introduced a complex profit-sharing model using ransomware as a means of defense. -Service.

To combat devastating ransomware attacks, Zscaler ThreatLabz recommends the following strategies.

● Fight AI with AI. As attackers use AI to identify vulnerabilities, organizations must counter them with AI-powered zero trust security systems that detect and mitigate new threats.

● Benefits of implementing Zero Trust architecture. Zero Trust’s cloud-based security platform stops ransomware at every stage of the attack cycle:

○ Minimize the attack surface. Replacing vulnerable VPN and firewall architectures with a zero-trust architecture hides users, applications, and devices behind a cloud proxy, making them invisible and undetectable to online threats.

○ Compromise Prevention: TLS/SSL inspection, browser isolation, advanced sandboxing, and policy-based access control prevent access to malicious websites and detect unknown threats. This eliminates the possibility of access to the corporate network, reducing the risk of initial compromise.

○ Eliminate lateral movement: Using segmentation, deception, identity threat detection and response (ITDR) between users and applications allows users to securely connect directly to applications rather than the network, eliminating the risk of lateral movement. .

○ Stop data loss. Built-in data loss prevention measures combined with full verification prevent data theft attempts.

TO find out more ransomware threats and download the Zscaler 2024 Ransomware Report, please visit Here.