Be Prepared – 2025 Cybersecurity Trends

Be Prepared – Cybersecurity Trends for 2025. What’s Hot and What’s Not

The new year is almost upon us, and by the time you read this article, it may already be here. As we anticipate the opportunities 2025 will bring, it is equally crucial for business owners to assess the cybersecurity challenges facing their businesses and the country as a whole.

From well-known threats like malware and ransomware, which are rapidly evolving, to newer concerns such as IoT hijacking and AI-driven cyberattacks, the wave of online criminality continues to escalate.

Here are some of the key cybersecurity trends and risks to be aware of in the coming year.

AI-driven cyberattacks present a new threat

The rise of generative AI applications, such as ChatGPT, is transforming the way businesses operate worldwide, and cybercriminals are taking notice.

One of the primary uses that online criminals have found for generative AI is the creation and refinement of phishing messages, making them appear exceptionally convincing.
As a result, traditional warning signs of phishing, such as poor grammar or spelling mistakes, are no longer reliable indicators.

To mitigate this risk, it is essential to verify any communication requesting payments or containing suspicious links with the sender before taking any action.

Hackers target IoT devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing significantly, with an estimated 18.8 billion smart devices in use worldwide.

Unfortunately, cybersecurity for IoT devices is often overlooked, leaving them vulnerable to hacking.

A single unsecured IoT device can serve as an entry point for criminals, potentially compromising an organisation’s entire network.

As IoT adoption continues to grow, we anticipate a rise in IoT-related attacks in 2025. Businesses must prioritise securing these devices to prevent exploitation.

Combating cybersecurity threats with zero-trust architecture

As new threats loom on the horizon in 2025, business owners are taking action to secure their data.

In addition to traditional measures such as updated antivirus software and reliable firewalls, advanced strategies like cloud storage, multifactor authentication, and total data protection (TDP) have become essential.

At the forefront of these strategies is zero-trust architecture, which requires network users to verify their identity using secure login credentials before accessing sensitive files.
If your organisation’s security protocols allow users to upload, download, or modify files without thorough identity verification, the zero-trust approach mandates immediate changes to these settings.

This method ensures that only authorised users can access your company’s critical data.

Looking ahead to a safer 2025

Soteria Cloud wishes all its clients a prosperous 2025, in the knowledge that our team remains committed to making the new year even safer from a data security perspective. In today’s digital landscape, investing in cybersecurity in 2025 is critical both for the sustainability and growth of your business.

Powered by Acronis, our platform combines advanced security measures with seamless backup processes and our team of fully certified Acronis professionals is ready to guide you as you take action today to secure your data tomorrow.

To learn more about our products, including TDP, and how they can safeguard your files. Call us on +27 (0) 87 943 2288, email sales@soteriacloud.com or visit our product page today to review our options.

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Digital transformation | Back 2 basics

Ignore the IT buzzwords and Go Back to Basics

Cybersecurity is a high-tech and rapidly changing field, and that means new technical jargon and IT buzzwords coming at you at a dizzying rate. From end point protection to threat intelligence analysis, the latest CybersecuritySpeak is hard to keep up with.

What’s more, experts warn that focusing on trendy expressions could be distracting companies from the most important element in cyber security: getting the basics right.

Let’s take a closer look at the wisdom of keeping things simple as we keep fighting the good fight against hackers in one of the toughest years on record for cybercrime incidents.

preventing cyberattacks: less talking, more doing

If you attend a lot of meetings with your company’s IT or cybersecurity team and members of management, this scenario is probably all too familiar:

First, the IT team makes a 15 minute presentation on the latest type of security threats, including a list of trending threats along with new buzzwords that has management raising their eyebrows and scratching their heads.

Before you know it, the carefully thought out suggestions made by the technical experts seem to get ignored and the only question from the board is, “how much is this going to cost?”

Not exactly the outcome that you had in mind.

One of the reasons why cybersecurity specialists often have their ideas sidelined by decision makers is because they tend to communicate in technical language.
Many SA organisations aren’t up to date with the latest IT trends and this makes it highly unlikely that management will be familiar with trending IT buzzwords.
By eliminating the jargon and communicating the cyberthreats and potential cost to the company directly, you’re more likely to get the necessary buy in from management.
The same principle applies when training employees for cybersecurity awareness, since many staff members may only have basic computer skills.

“Simple is best” is a great expression to keep in mind, especially if you want your prevention plan to be understood and implemented by every member of staff and make sense to management.

focus on getting back to basics for enhanced protection

No matter what buzzwords we use to describe the industry, there’s no doubt that the risk of cyberattacks is higher than ever this year. Cutting the jargon and spending your valuable time on basic network security is not only effective time management, but also essential to prevent and manage cybercrimes.

Data backups using secure cloud storage are an essential component of data security and will allow your information to be restored if an attack or hacking incident occurs.

Secure cloud storage is a tried and tested defence against cyberattacks, giving you a powerful vault to keep your business information safe from hackers. Advanced encryption means it can’t be read by anyone but you even if it falls into the wrong hands.

Our range of cloud storage backup packages for businesses of all sizes means that there’s a solution to suit your company’s current and future data security needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can safeguard your business and customer data.

2023 Cybersecurity Trends and Goals | Cybersecurity

Top Cybersecurity trends to know about for a hack-free 2023

The New Year is around the corner, and with it comes a fresh wave of cybersecurity trends that we all need to be aware of. Before you start 2023 with a bang, now is a great time to familiarise yourself with the hottest topics in the data security realm.

The new year promises several evolutions in the information protection industry as cloud-based services become the norm. Here are some of the big changes to track in the year ahead.

Cloud storage as a service

The ability to create data and make it available online in the cloud – and on demand – will drive new digital services in 2023.

With data products from industry analysis to personalised fitness plans floating in the cloud, secure storage will become even more crucial over the next 12 months.

Immutable storage for unbeatable security

Regular encryption won’t be good enough in 2023. Hackers have developed ways to bypass regular storage encryption, and cloud storage experts have hit back with immutable storage that can’t be changed even if it’s compromised.

Data security around the clock

Employees and business owners who use their mobile devices to stay productive out of the office will need to ensure that their devices are 100% secure from 2023.

Security vulnerabilities on personal devices can cause major data leaks and breaches – and the IT department may not even know that these devices have access to company email and secure information.

• Up-to-date antivirus, firewall, and email security and multi-factor authentication are essential for every business. Ensuring that yours are ready to roll in early January will set your business up for a safe and productive year.

Here are the key housekeeping measures to keep your business safe in 2023 are:

Implement multi-factor authentication –MFA is an important additional layer of protection
Beware of phishing – don’t be the missing link; be suspicious of all e-mails unless you know the source
Update your passwords – clean out and clean up your passwords frequently
Install software and device updates – set automatic updates so you don’t have to remember all the time
Educate – keep yourself and your staff on top informed
Backup, backup, backup

Democratised Cybersecurity

The days when cybersecurity was an exclusive competency controlled by the IT department are over.

2023 will see all employees and stakeholders empowered with data protection spreads to every corner of the organisation.

Soteria Cloud offers a range of secure, cloud-based data storage options for families and businesses. We use immutable storage as an extra layer of security, keeping your data safe in the year ahead.

To learn more about our secure cloud storage offering, browse our range of packages today.