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In recent years, AI adoption has surged at an unprecedented rate. Household names, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI have poured billions into developing advanced AI systems, while businesses worldwide scramble to integrate the technology into their operations. But, despite its supposed popularity, the pressure is mounting to prove AI’s real-world value. 2025 will be a defining year for the technology, as stakeholders and boards begin to question whether their AI investments are delivering tangible ROI, and if they ever will.
Away from AI, the cyber threat landscape is also becoming increasingly volatile. Global conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Yemen have intensified state-sponsored cyber activity, which is expected to continue to escalate and likely to impact the western world the most.
Beyond AI and cybersecurity threats, IT infrastructure faces growing risks from interconnectivity failures and data residency issues. High-profile IT outages, like the CrowdStrike incident last year, have highlighted how quickly operations worldwide can be disrupted by one incident. Meanwhile, concerns over undersea cable sabotage and geopolitical disruptions raise questions about where critical data resides and who truly controls it.
As we enter the second quarter of 2025, businesses are facing one of the most uncertain and transformative years in IT history. So, let’s take a look at how the cyber and IT landscape will change this year.
A make-or-break year for AI
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, AI has been booming in every way possible, but the conversation is moving from its potential to its performance. More than two years on and with AI-related spending projected to exceed $1 trillion in the coming years, investors and executives will soon be questioning the returns on these investments, if they aren’t already.
Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com and other travel platforms, recently shared that only a small portion of its customers are interacting with its AI services. While AI can provide excellent assistance, he acknowledged that responses and recommendations are inconsistent, highlighting the need for further refinement before businesses fully commit to large-scale implementation.
The issue here is, with billions upon billions being funnelled into AI development, it still feels we are a way off understanding what its best use will be. This will be concerning for shareholders, even in some of the giants involved in the AI goldrush. Where does the buck stop, and will investment become unviable due to the lack of real-world impact.
Many are struggling with high implementation costs, unexpected limitations, and ethical concerns around the technology and without a significant breakthrough, skepticism around AI’s true value is likely to grow.
The rise of state-sponsored cyber attacks
Latest data shows that Russian cyber-attacks on Ukraine have surged by nearly 70% in 2024, with 4,315 incidents targeting critical infrastructure.
This year we could see an escalation in attacks, especially in Asia, and one of the biggest concerns is upstream supply chain infiltration. Because China is deeply embedded in the global technology supply chain, there is a real risk that malicious code, backdoors, or hardware vulnerabilities have been deliberately introduced into systems long before they are activated.
Beyond Asia, another potential flashpoint for state-sponsored cyber activity is Australia. Given its close alliance with the U.S. and increasing tensions with China, if subversive cyber-attacks begin surfacing in Australia, they could show early indicators of a broader Chinese cyber strategy.
Interconnectivity vulnerabilities
As the world becomes more interconnected and reliant on devices and software, organizations are struggling to understand where its vulnerabilities sit, increasing the risk of systemic failures. The CrowdStrike outage last year served as a wake-up call, showing how a single IT failure can cause widespread operational disruptions.
Many organizations are unprepared and don’t have back up plans if an issue does occur. What happens if your cloud provider experiences a prolonged outage? What if a major software dependency suddenly fails? Organizations need to consider how they can operate if it can’t access its systems and develop robust contingency plans to mitigate these risks.
The growing data residency battle
Data sovereignty and control will become a major point of contention in 2025. As geopolitical tensions rise and undersea cable sabotage grows, governments and businesses are increasingly concerned about where their data is stored and who has access to it.
Most international internet traffic depends on undersea cables, and these have become a target for sabotage. Recent reports indicate that Sweden’s cables have been damaged for a third time, following its severance in November last year. Businesses must consider what happens if these critical infrastructures are compromised, as one incident can cause major disruptions to global connectivity, financial trade, and other critical systems. In other words, depending on the location and extent of the damage, large portions of the world may experience slow or non-existent data or internet access.
Emerging technologies like Starlink and other satellite-based internet systems offer potential solutions, but they also introduce new security risks. With these systems becoming integral to global communication, they present lucrative targets for cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors looking to compromise sensitive data or exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access. Companies should know where their data is stored and under what jurisdiction with a robust response plan in place.
The cyber and IT landscape is constantly evolving, driven by new technologies and emerging threats, and 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most transformational years in history. As we move through the year, businesses that invest in resilience, and take a proactive stance on AI, cybersecurity, and IT infrastructure, will be in the strongest position to succeed and lead.
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