As we ring in the new year, we look ahead to a strong 2025 in which small businesses like yours experience continued growth and success. But we must also look ahead to a less welcome reality: 2025 will be a year of continued cyberthreats against small businesses. SMBs are three times more likely to be targeted compared to larger companies because they typically have less time and fewer resources to devote to cybersecurity; many also lack the expertise needed to implement a robust strategy.
But, at N8 Solutions, we know that the best defense against a damaging cyberattack is knowledge and preparation. In that spirit, we share the top five cybersecurity challenges you’re likely to face in the year ahead – and how you can best protect your business from these threats.
#1 Sophisticated Ransomware Attacks
The ransomware landscape: In most applications, artificial intelligence can help your SMB increase productivity, better serve your customers, and remain competitive. But, in other cases, AI can introduce incredibly damaging cyberattacks against your business, including potent new ransomware attacks. Attackers leverage AI to automate various aspects of a ransomware attack which increases its efficacy. AI also enables ransomware to adapt tactics in real-time to evade detection.
The impact on your business: Sophisticated ransomware attacks can result in data loss, downtime, and financial and reputational damage. A particularly devastating attack can also shutter your business altogether.
The solution: Implement a process of immutable backups, which means that once your backup data is written, it can never be changed, overwritten, or deleted. With immutable backups, your data can’t be read, modified, or deleted by clients on your network. Your endpoints are also targets for ransomware attacks and you should implement the right endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution. EDR positions your endpoints as your first line of defense, offers muti-layered protection to catch threats, and provides the intelligence required to investigate, isolate, and remediate an intrusion.
#2 Believable Phishing and Social Engineering Threats
The phishing landscape: As with ransomware, AI is imbuing phishing and social engineering attempts with incredible potency. Phishing attempts are dangerous because they’re designed to fool you and your team—and it can all happen in an instant. Generative AI, or GenAI, is taking this to the next level. It can contribute to highly believable phishing and social engineering attempts that compel or convince your team to click on nefarious links and lures that impersonate an actual decision-maker in your small business. It’s not limited to text or email; GenAI can deliver audio or video impersonations that are equally convincing—and damaging.
The impact on your business: When an employee falls for a phishing or social engineering attempt, they’ll compromise their credentials which enables an attacker to infiltrate your entire network. As with ransomware, the impact can be devasting, from data loss and downtime to the need to shutter your business altogether.
The solution: Train your team to act as your first line of defense against an attack. It’s crucial that you and your staff stay vigilant and know how to spot and report potentially harmful emails and intrusions. Create a training plan for your entire team, and regularly update the content to adapt to the changing threat landscape. (For more, here’s five cybersecurity training tips.) You should also implement email filtering systems to prevent phishing attempts from reaching your employees in the first place.
#3 Regulatory Compliance Complexity
The compliance landscape: A secure network is critical to protect your business from the increasing threat of a cyberattack. But network security is not just a nice to have—your small. Business may be required to follow increasingly stringent local, state, or federal regulations to protect your data and your people. Whether you run a small legal business or a professional services firm, or whether you offer transportation services or medical products, you likely need to comply with a range of data protection requirements, from HIPAA to GDPR to CCPA.
The impact on your business: Without a secure network, your business could fall victim to a damaging cyberattack. Without a secure network, you could also face the risk of high fines as well as reputational damage due to non-compliance.
The solution: At a minimum, we suggest you invest in a data protection policy, access controls, and employee training and awareness. You should also regularly audit and assess your network security to ensure that you remain protected and compliant. Often, it’s more efficient and affordable to partner with a trusted cybersecurity expert, like N8 Solutions, to help you stay secure and current on the latest regulations, threats, and best practices.
#4 Vulnerable Remote and Hybrid Workforces
The hybrid workforce landscape: While some observers predict that 2025 will be the end of remote work, the reality is that many small businesses will continue to have a permanent hybrid workforce in the years to come. Nearly 70% of employers offer some form of work location flexibility. But hybrid workers mean distributed teams with varying devices and networks, and this puts your business at risk of a damaging data breach.
The impact on your small business: Your staff may appreciate working from home occasionally, but you should know that this workplace flexibility increases your attack surface due to unsecured personal devices and networks. It can be a tricky balancing act to satisfy your employees, remain productive, and stay secure.
The solution: To strike the right balance between flexibility and security, implement essential endpoint security measures, including email encryption, multi-factor authentication, and the use of VPNs. If you offer remote or hybrid work, you should also invest in endpoint management solutions, regularly update your email software, and implement access controls. As with the other challenges, employee training is critical to help you team understand the risks of using public WiFi and practicing poor behaviors, like setting bad passwords.
#5 Emerging Threats from Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
Explanation: Think about all the devices you need to run and grow your business. Aside from your desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, you might also rely on countless IoT devices, like medical devices, industrial sensors, connected vehicles, or even a smart doorbell at your business. Some estimates suggest that we’ll have more than 30 billion connected devices worldwide by 2025! All these devices present a potential vulnerability for your business. (Don’t believe it? Consider an endpoint breach in which attackers gained access to the network via a smart thermometer in the company’s aquarium!)
The impact on your business: You can’t do without these devices. But you can build a stronger and more proactive security perimeter to create resilient endpoints that act as an early line of defense against a cyberattack. Keep in mind that the danger of IoT devices is that they can contribute to the spread of malware and unauthorized access across your broader network.
The solution: Invest in network segmentation for your IoT devices, meaning that you essentially isolate or contain potential intrusions to smaller segments of your network. This will help prevent an intrusion from affecting your central or sensitive data. You should also inventory your IoT devices and regularly update your firmware and other device-specific security measures.
We hope that 2025 brings growth and success for your small business. To achieve your goals, keep in mind the top five cybersecurity challenges you’re likely to face in the year ahead: sophisticated ransomware attacks, believable phishing attempts, regulatory compliance, a hybrid workforce, and emerging threats from IoT devices. We encourage your team to take proactive steps today toward greater protection, productivity, and compliance for your small business. Please get in touch with our expert team anytime. A great place to start is to schedule a free Network Security Assessment and Audit. We look forward to connecting in the new year!