Analysis of the CrowdStrike 2025 Global Cyber Threat Report

Every year, the CrowdStrike Global Threat Report takes the pulse of the cybersecurity world, and the 2025 edition is once again drawing attention. This year’s main theme is a concept that requires us to rethink our security strategies from the ground up: the “Entrepreneurial Cyber Adversary.” We are no longer just facing hackers writing code at their computers; instead, we are up against organized structures that calculate profit and loss, increase efficiency, conduct market research, and even build teams. So how are these new-generation cybercriminals changing the rules of the game, and where do we stand in this game?

This report is not just about numbers; it is also a strong warning for the future. To understand how fast attackers are moving, what new methods they are using, and how both individuals and organizations can survive in this new threat landscape, let’s take a look at the highlights of the report together.

📈 Overview: The Numbers Don’t Lie

First, let’s paint a general picture of the scene. Here are the most striking statistics of 2024:

• Average Breakout Time: 48 minutes You have only 48 minutes for an attacker to spread after entering your network.
• Fastest Breakout Time: 51 seconds In the blink of an eye, it could be too late for everything.
• Increase in Vishing (Voice Phishing): 442% Phone scams are more dangerous and widespread than ever.
• Increase in China-Nexus Attacks: 150% State-sponsored cyber espionage activities continue unabated.
• Malware-Free Attacks: 79% Attackers are now acting like “insiders” by using legitimate tools instead of sending viruses.
• Initial Access-Focused Vulnerabilities: 52% More than half of the discovered vulnerabilities are the kind that allow attackers to take the first step into the network.

These numbers prove that cybersecurity is no longer a matter of “if,” but a matter of “when.”

🎯 Which Sectors Are Most Targeted?

According to the report, although no sector is safe, some are the favorites of attackers. The top 5 sectors that experienced the most interactive intrusions in 2024 were:

1. 💻 Technology (23%)
2. 👥 Consulting and Professional Services (15%)
3. 🏭 Manufacturing (12%)
4. 🛒 Retail (11%)
5. 💰 Financial Services (10%)

🕵️‍♂️ State-Sponsored Threats (APT Groups): The Silent Soldiers of Cyber Warfare

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, acting on behalf of nation-states, took their capabilities to the next level in 2024. These groups are no longer just stealing data; they are also trying to gain long-term strategic advantages by infiltrating critical infrastructures in line with geopolitical goals.

The actor that the report draws the most attention to is China. The investments it has made for years with the goal of becoming a “Cyber Power” have made China-nexus groups more organized, more covert, and more dangerous. While an average increase of 150% was observed in China-nexus attacks compared to 2023, this rate exceeded 300% in key sectors such as finance and manufacturing. CrowdStrike identified 7 new specialized China-nexus APT groups in 2024 alone. This shows that China is now establishing niche teams focused on specific targets instead of a “spray and pray” strategy.

Forecast: State-sponsored groups are expected to try to create a wider impact by infiltrating the supply chains in sectors such as telecommunications, energy, and technology. Infiltrating a software provider that a company trusts is now a more attractive target than infiltrating the company itself.

• 🏢 What does this mean for companies?

  Supply chain security and third-party risk management are more critical than ever. Adopting a “Zero Trust” architecture is not an option, but a necessity.

• 👤 What does this mean for individuals?

  State-sponsored attacks do not usually target ordinary users, but you may come across phishing campaigns or fake job offers (as North Korea does) spread by these groups. Always be wary of suspicious offers.

💰 Ransomware: The Industrialization of Crime

Ransomware fully transformed into an industry in 2024. The biggest driver of this ecosystem is the “Access-as-a-Service” model.

Ransomware gangs no longer have to spend time infiltrating networks. Groups called “Access Brokers” infiltrate corporate networks and sell this access to the highest bidder on the black market. In 2024, such access-for-sale listings increased by 50% compared to the previous year. This means that a ransomware attack can start much faster than before.

A Real-Life Example: Attack in 4 Minutes

A group named CURLY SPIDER, mentioned in the report, performs social engineering by calling an employee on the phone, infiltrates the system with a legitimate remote assistance tool, and creates a persistent backdoor. This entire operation takes less than 4 minutes. This speed clearly shows why traditional security measures are insufficient.

Forecast: Ransomware groups will not only encrypt data but will also more aggressively use the threat, “If you don’t pay the ransom, I will publish all your data.” The threat of data leakage will become a bigger bargaining chip than the threat of encryption. Additionally, an increase in attacks targeting cloud backups is expected.

• 🏢 What does this mean for companies?

  Just backing up is not enough. Make sure these backups are offline and immutable. Network segmentation can slow down the spread of an attack.

• 👤 What does this mean for individuals?

  The risk of ransomware on your personal devices continues. Regularly back up your important files to cloud services and external drives. Keep your software up to date.

🎣 Phishing and Social Engineering: “Hello, We’re Calling from the IT Department!”

Attackers know that the weakest link is human, and in 2024, they picked up the phone to break this link. While traditional phishing emails are still a threat, the real explosion occurred in voice phishing, or vishing.

In the second half of 2024, there was an unbelievable 442% increase in vishing attacks. The scenario usually goes like this: The attacker introduces themselves as an employee from your company’s IT department. They try to convince you by saying, “We have detected suspicious activity on your account, we need to install an application to help you.” People’s tendency to trust phone calls more than emails makes this method extremely effective. Another popular method is to directly call the company’s IT help desk and request a password reset by impersonating an employee who has forgotten their password.

Forecast: As AI-powered voice cloning (deepfake voice) technology becomes more accessible, vishing attacks will become much more convincing. Attackers could impersonate your manager’s voice and request an urgent money transfer from the finance department.

• 🏢 What does this mean for companies?

  Update employee awareness training to include being skeptical of requests made over the phone. Strengthen password reset procedures for the IT help desk (e.g., video verification).

• 👤 What does this mean for individuals?

  The rule is simple: Verify, then trust. Whoever calls you asking for your credentials or asking you to install something, hang up and call the relevant institution back from the official number you know.

☁️ Cloud Threats: When Should You Get Your Head Out of the Clouds?

As much of a blessing as the cloud is for the business world, it is an equally big opportunity for cybercriminals. Attackers are now focusing directly on cloud infrastructures, not servers.

According to the report, 35% of breaches in cloud environments occur through the misuse of legitimate (but stolen) credentials. An access key (API key) forgotten in the code by a developer or a weak password can hand over the keys to the entire cloud kingdom to the attacker. Another major risk is misconfigurations. A storage bucket left public can lead to the leakage of millions of sensitive data. A new threat that emerged in 2024 is LLMJacking. Attackers use stolen cloud credentials to access companies’ expensive artificial intelligence models and use this processing power for their own malicious purposes or sell it on the black market.

Forecast: The complexity of multi-cloud environments will increase security vulnerabilities. New technologies such as serverless architectures and containers will create new attack vectors.

• 🏢 What does this mean for companies?

  Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Identity and Access Management (IAM) tools are critically important. You should continuously monitor all assets in your cloud environments and audit configurations with automated tools.

• 👤 What does this mean for individuals?

  Be sure to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all cloud services you use (Google Drive, iCloud, etc.).

🤖 Artificial Intelligence: The New Superpower of Cybercriminals

Generative AI (GenAI) became a “force multiplier” for cybercriminals in 2024. This technology increased both the quality and volume of attacks.

Artificial intelligence is used to prepare highly professional and personalized phishing emails with no grammatical errors. According to one study, the click-through rate for phishing emails generated by AI (54%) is many times higher than for those written by humans (12%). Attackers also get support from AI for many technical tasks, from writing simple scripts to developing code that exploits complex vulnerabilities. Groups like FAMOUS CHOLLIMA have managed to infiltrate companies by creating fake LinkedIn profiles and resumes with AI.

Forecast: The proliferation of deepfake video and voice cloning technologies will be one of the biggest threats. Imagine an attacker impersonating a CEO’s voice and image giving a multi-million dollar transfer instruction to the finance team in a video conference. This scenario is no longer science fiction.

• 🏢 What does this mean for companies?

  Establish protocols for critical processes like financial transactions that are not based solely on email or phone calls, but include an additional verification step (e.g., confirmation from a different communication channel).

• 👤 What does this mean for individuals?

  Be skeptical of everything you see on the internet, especially video and audio recordings that ask you to react shockingly or emotionally.

📢 Final Word

This report shows that cyber threats are evolving rapidly and that organizations can no longer be passive bystanders. Now is the right time to review your organization’s security strategies and audit your cloud environments and supply chain. See you in another blog post, take care.

Disclaimer: This article is a summary of the highlights of the CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report. The content here is provided for informational purposes only. Report: CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report