Ransomware attacks to continue in 2025 creating vulnerabilities in artificial intelligence systems, predicted Sophos, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, in its cybersecurity predictions, shedding light on critical trends and emerging threats.
To tackle the new attacker tactics, Sophos called call for urgent measures to fortify organizational defenses in its predictions. It said ransomware remains a significant threat for all organizations, particularly the vulnerable, the education and healthcare sectors Limited cybersecurity budgets, reliance on legacy systems, and the handling of sensitive personal data make these sectors attractive targets for cybercriminals. Sophos warns that without a proactive approach, these industries will continue to face escalating risks.
Artificial intelligence is both a revolutionary tool and a potential vulnerability. Christopher Budd, Director of Sophos X-Ops, highlights the growing concern, stating, "Microsoft has been issuing patches for AI products over the past year, and attackers can use large language models (LLMs) to deploy malware such as trojans. In the next year, AI users and security professionals will need to figure out the best way to patch these vulnerabilities, safeguard against malware, and protect against the eventual attacks that inevitably follow."
As generative AI tools become more prevalent, their misuse for phishing, malware creation, and scam campaigns increases, adding complexity to the cybersecurity landscape.
Chester Wisniewski, Global Field CTO at Sophos, points out that these attackers are leveraging the shift in corporate security practices: "As organizations implement more advanced endpoint security tools and deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA), attackers are increasingly targeting cloud environments.
