Elodie Collins
ECS collected insights from across federal civilian, state and local government and commercial cybersecurity programs to identify cyber trends, threats and table stakes in a new report.
Titled the ECS 2025 Cybersecurity Report, the document was penned by Keith McCloskey, vice president and chief technology officer at ECS, and other company leaders to provide a snapshot of the cyber landscape in the next 12 months and share what actions organizations can take to protect their networks, data and people from attacks.
Report Highlights AI Opportunities, Threats
One of the takeaways from the report is the potential of artificial intelligence to augment cyber response and strengthen cybersecurity, and adversary utilization of the technology to launch more sophisticated cyberattacks.
More cyber professionals are employing AI to serve as force multipliers that carry out repetitive tasks while discovering patterns that otherwise would be missed. AI-driven tools, such as anomaly detection, automated threat triage and predictive analysis, improve detection and accelerate response times.
However, according to the report, adversaries are using AI to enhance the speed and precision of and scale malicious cyber campaigns. Hackers can use the technology to create more realistic social engineering attacks like phishing. AI-driven malware can also find and exploit vulnerabilities faster and adjust its behavior to avoid detection.
Repeat Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware will also remain a threat in the coming months, especially with the increased availability of advanced hacking tools that make it easier for individuals and groups to launch an attack.
ECS also warned that ransomware attacks are a “persistent and escalating threat.” Recent trends reveal that hackers are going beyond just encrypting data, but stealing and threatening to leak sensitive information to the public.
Cyber Espionage and Supply Chain Risk Management
The report raised an over reliance across industry and government on software-as-a-service and cloud services, which means that many organizations have no visibility or control over the supply chain. Attacks like the SolarWinds Orion hack in 2020 and the MOVEit compromise in 2023 demonstrate that hackers can insert and disguise malware as trusted software, which is why cybersecurity supply chain risk management is important.
Cyberattacks attributed to state-sponsored actors, particularly from China, will also continue to pose major risks to U.S. systems. State-sponsored cyberattacks are often more sophisticated and target infrastructure and supply chain.
Adversaries use cyber “as a tool of geopolitical competition,” the report authors wrote. When hackers infiltrate government systems, they can gain strategic insights into operations and emerging capabilities. Hackers could also interrupt critical infrastructure, causing harm to Americans and the economy.
