The rapidly evolving cyber threat environment is being shaped by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence by threat actors, the continued dominance of ransomware operations, and a sharp rise in geopolitically motivated hacktivism, according to a report by Cyble Inc.
Cyble's analysis highlights how cyber adversaries are increasingly leveraging automation, AI-enabled tooling, and interconnected digital ecosystems to scale attacks, reduce time-to-compromise, and maximise operational impact across industries and regions.
The report provides an analysis of cyber threats observed throughout 2025, drawing from intelligence collected across underground forums, dark web marketplaces, and global threat actor ecosystems.
Ransomware Operations Continue To Dominate
As per Cyble researchers, ransomware remained the most disruptive cyber threat in 2025, with threat actors refining extortion-only models, rotating affiliates across multiple ransomware-as-a-service platforms, and repeatedly targeting organisations that demonstrated a willingness to pay.
Dominant ransomware groups maintained consistent attack volumes, leveraging stolen credentials, exposed services, and zero-day vulnerabilities to gain initial access and execute high-impact intrusions.
AI, Automation Accelerate Cybercrime
The report shows increased use of AI across phishing campaigns, malware development, social engineering, and reconnaissance activities. Threat actors leveraged AI to generate realistic lures, automate vulnerability exploitation, and conduct large-scale credential harvesting with minimal human involvement.
Hacktivism, Geopolitical Cyber Activity Surge
Hacktivist operations expanded significantly in 2025, with data leaks, service disruptions, and destructive attacks increasingly aligned with geopolitical conflicts. Government agencies, critical infrastructure, transportation, and energy sectors were frequent targets of coordinated campaigns.
Additionally, identity abuse and supply chain attacks continued to expand, and exploited vulnerabilities enabled rapid and large-scale compromise.
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