The AirPlus Global

Cybersecurity threats in 2025: Are we ready for what’s next?

Written by Mary Conner | Oct 15, 2025

Are we prepared for the new era of cybersecurity?

As financial organizations are embracing new tools and tech with rapid speed, cyber criminals are just as quick to exploit these changes. 

Just like the early days of the internet, no one can predict exactly what’s ahead, but staying agile, vigilant, and adaptable is essential.  

 

The cybersecurity threat landscape  

 

While innovation is critical to modernizing workflows and structures, it leaves organizations exposed to new risks. 

A 2025 report from CrowdStrike reveals that the financial sector is now the fifth most infiltrated industry. This marks a 26% increase in cyber intrusions compared to the previous year. [1]  

Notably, these attacks are becoming more persistent and sophisticated, using persuasive tactics to seek financial gain, steal sensitive information, and disrupt operations as they probe new systems. 

To understand where the greatest dangers lie in 2025, we’ve mapped out the Cyber Threat Radar – a snapshot of the evolving threats organizations need to look out for.  

 

 

Most wanted by cybersecurity: threat actor profiles

 

Now that we’ve defined these threats, how can organizations spot them as they begin to surface? 

Here’s a breakdown of their profiles with the most important characteristics and what to look out for in case they might be lurking.

How payment service providers can prepare for the next wave 

 

The quickly evolving threat landscape means financial services can no longer rely on reactive measures alone.  

Neglecting cybersecurity can have far-reaching consequences, including reduced operational efficiency, compliance failures, financial losses, and erosion of customer trust. 

Therefore, organizations must adopt a proactive, multi-layered, and regulatory focused approach to protect themselves and their clients.  

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, has outlined which measures the finance sector should invest in now to improve its resilience [2].  

 

         These include: 

 

  • Investing in advance technology – improve threat detection and predictive analysis to identify potential threats by integrating AI. 

  • Strengthening regulatory compliance – robust policies and procedures are crucial to maintain resilience, such as DORA, and strong international security standards like PCI-DSS certifications. 

 

  • Implementing strong training programs – ensure employees have awareness in order to reduce the risk of social engineering and improve overall cyber hygiene. 

 

  • Creating strong incident response plans – effective reporting management that includes actions for detecting, containing, eradicating, and recovering. 

 

  • Implementing multi-factor authentication - reduce the risk of credential theft and data leaks by requiring additional forms of authentication.  

 

 

[1] 2025 Global Threat Hunting Report | CrowdStrike 

[2] Threat landscape 2025 | ENISA