The World Economic Forum, in partnership with Accenture, has released their Global Cybersecurity Outlook for 2025.

Over 300 CEOs and CISOs from around the world were polled and interviewed as the basis for these findings:

• The cyber talent gap has grown with 49% of respondents indicating they lack necessary workforce to meet cybersecurity goals.
• Smaller organizations struggle to ensure cyber resilience while larger corporations have increased resilience.
• 69% stated that regulations are too complex or too numerous to maintain compliance and verify that suppliers are compliant.
• Cyber vulnerability of the public sector has increased. But vulnerability in the private sector among medium-to-large companies has decreased.

Lessons

1. Understanding geopolitical dynamics is becoming crucial for effective long-term risk management. State-sponsored attackers are targeting not just governments, but also aiming to disrupt economies and undermine critical infrastructure.
2. Interconnectedness of supply chains means that when smaller, less secure companies fall victim to cybercrime, the wider ecosystem is also impacted. It benefits the whole community when leaders of more secure companies foster talent growth through formalized mentorship and internship programs.
3. Skills in operating AI and defending against it are becoming increasingly important for the next generation of cybersecurity workers. AI presents an opportunity to close the skills gap with automation and a workforce that can harness AI in the detection, prevention, and recovery from attacks.

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Article written by the Washington State Cybersecurity Center of Excellence