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Cyber Security

Outlook 2025: Multi-Modal AI Systems Will be Used to Defend Against Phishing

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John Shier, the Field CTO at Sophos, says in addition to multi-modal AI systems, incremental improvements in AI technologies, across all its different modalities, will continue to be in demand from all industries

How did the industry and your company fare in 2024, and what were the key highlights?
One highlight in 2024 was the introduction of the “Secure by Design” initiative spearheaded by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), of which Sophos was a founding signatory. Getting technology vendors to improve the security and quality of their products from the start will have long-lasting improvements on our collective security.

Looking at the cybercrime scene, we saw continued attacks against supply chains that had widespread impacts. The most recent example, the ransomware attack against supply chain management company Blue Yonder, disrupted businesses globally. These kinds of attacks not only have amplified impacts but also increase the pressure on victim organizations to pay the extortionists.

What opportunities do you foresee for 2025, and how do you plan to leverage them?
While large language models (LLMs) have been a focal point in AI, we anticipate that their advancement will be incremental rather than revolutionary in 2025. Multi-modal AI systems will be increasingly used to defend against never-before-seen phishing and other social scams. These systems could become instrumental in both cybersecurity defence and cybercriminal attack strategies.

What major challenges did you encounter in 2024, and how did you address them?
In our latest Active Adversary report, we found that cybercriminals are increasingly hiding in plain sight on targets’ Windows networks by taking advantage of trusted Microsoft binaries. Between 2023 and the first half of 2024, abuse of trusted applications grew by 51%.

Understanding how attackers are abusing these living off-the-land binaries (LOLBins) enabled Sophos to continue adding detections for malicious and suspicious activities resulting from their use. These additional detections mean that defenders can detect attacker activity sooner and therefore respond quickly to nascent attacks before they become critical.

Which emerging technologies do you believe will be in high demand in 2025, and why?
In addition to multi-modal AI systems, incremental improvements in AI technologies, across all its different modalities, will continue to be in demand from all industries. General hardware improvements in the areas of processing, memory and storage will help fuel AI improvements and other technological breakthroughs. Hopefully, the widespread application of renewable energy technologies will also be in high demand to combat the devastating environmental impacts of AI and other energy-intensive technologies.

If you could give one piece of advice to businesses preparing for 2025, what would it be?
Regarding focus on cybersecurity practice, our suggestion to channel shall be to:

  • Strengthen Endpoint Protection and Managed Detection & Response (MDR) Services as sophisticated malware and ransomware continue to be top threats in the META region, targeting both SMBs and large enterprises.
  • Offer Cloud Security Solutions as Cloud adoption is accelerating in META, and partners must secure their customers’ data, applications, and infrastructure in the cloud.
  • Educate and implement Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and SASE frameworks for customers transitioning to hybrid work environments.
  • Offer flexible subscription-based or pay-as-you-go cybersecurity solutions tailored to SMBs and startups as many organizations in the region face budget constraints but require enterprise-grade protection.
  • Help customers comply with regional data protection regulations like GDPR, Saudi’s PDPL, or South Africa’s POPIA.
  • Regulatory enforcement is becoming stricter, and organizations need expert guidance to avoid penalties.

What will be your primary focus areas and strategic priorities for 2025?
Below are the top 3 priorities for 2025 apart from enhancing our partner program:

  1. Build Managed Services Capabilities (MSP) Priority: In 2025, we aspire to transition channel into offering Managed Services through the Sophos MSP Connect program.
  2. Focus on Solution Bundling and Cross-Selling: we have created a 2025 plan to engage, and encourage partners to bundle Sophos solutions (e.g., endpoint, firewall, MDR, and cloud security) to maximize value per customer
  3. Co-Marketing and Demand Generation: Our Marketing team shall engage with channels to drive demand through joint marketing campaigns and events for lead generation and market penetration.

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