Barrier Networks: Cybersecurity Predictions 2025

As we approach the end of 2024, cybersecurity professionals across the globe are looking into their digital crystal balls and forecasting what changes we can expect to see in the year ahead.

How will the ransomware landscape evolve in 2025? Will law enforcement take a tougher stand against criminals and cryptos or will they work harder to deter victims from paying? Plus, what overlooked avenues could criminals use to breach organisations?

Below are predictions from Barrier Networks, which answer each of these questions and set out what trends we could see on the cybersecurity landscape in 2025.

‘Bounce back loans’ and crypto exchange collaboration could become viable solutions to counter ransomware

It’s safe to say we are not winning the fight against ransomware. Every year attack activity increases, every year organisations suffer significant losses and, even in the face of increased sanctions and government crackdowns, ransomware groups continue to thrive, showing little sign of retreat.

This leads to the conclusion that something drastic and novel needs to happen to get us ahead of these threat actors.

Ransomware payment bans often float across the industry as a bullet-proof solution, but this would be a huge challenge for any government to successfully implement.

Payment bans are murky, they can hurt organisations and they could potentially lead to them making payments to threat actors under the radar, which would result in a whole new area of online policing that would require significant money and time.

Instead, a more feasible approach might involve increased government support for ransomware victims. Although it’s unclear exactly what form this support would take, we could see the introduction of "bounce-back" loans, similar to those provided during the pandemic. These loans would mean governments would provide financial assistance to ransomware victims to help them rebuild their systems.

This would deter organisations from paying untrustworthy ransomware groups, while the government could enlist a set of assured providers to help organisations recover, rebuild their systems and improve their cyber defences moving forward.

Once an organisation’s systems are back up and running and normal operations have resumed, they could then begin paying back the government on an instalment basis, making it a much easier cost to absorb.

Such a scheme would keep funds circulating within the UK’s economy and strike a financial blow against ransomware operators, while potentially making the country a less appealing target.

But, if this doesn’t work, we could also see law enforcement turning to crypto exchanges to stamp out illegal transactions from ransomware.

Cryptocurrencies have long been associated with ransomware activities so regulators may work harder to cut payments off at the source. However, with no single person owning a cryptocurrency or being responsible for its overall activities this could mean closer collaboration with crypto exchanges is the solution.

Exchanges play a crucial role in processing cryptocurrency transactions, but they are also regulated by industry bodies, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means they have a unique position where they can monitor payments for suspicious activity.

By partnering with regulated exchanges, authorities could gain better insight into cryptocurrency transactions, helping to ensure they are legitimate and not being used to illegally hide funds earned from ransomware.

IPv6 installations could provide attackers with network entry points

It’s been over 13 years since World IPv6 Day, yet only around a quarter of global websites fully support the internet protocol. Most websites still rely on IPv4 due to its widespread use and simpler implementation.

However, a significant emerging risk in 2025 could be attackers exploiting overlooked or unsecured IPv6 connections.

Many devices may already support IPv6 without users even realising it. While some users might attempt to disable this protocol, it’s often challenging to switch off entirely. This leaves a blind spot, as users typically focus on securing IPv4 connections while remaining unaware of potential vulnerabilities from IPv6.

Cyber criminals could exploit these unsecured IPv6 pathways to infiltrate networks, steal sensitive data, or deploy malware.

Many current breaches may already be linked to this overlooked vector, a trend we expect to see continue in 2025.

For any organisation currently not being able to pinpoint the source of a breach, maybe it’s time to work out if an unsecured IPv6 connection was the cause.

For organisations and computer users concerned about this risk, it’s best to speak to IT and cybersecurity professionals who can help with securing IPv6 or with disabling it completely.

These are just some of the trends we can expect to see in the coming year and there will be many surprises along the way.

While we can’t predict every twist and turn, we can say for certain that we look forward to supporting our clients as we help them battle through the cyber playing field in 2025, and beyond.