Picture this: A hospital administrator receives a call from someone who sounds exactly like their IT director. The voice is perfect: same accent, same speech patterns. But it’s not really their colleague — it’s an AI-generated voice, the latest tool in a cybercriminal’s arsenal. Welcome to ransomware in 2025.
The ransomware landscape has evolved far beyond the stereotype of lone hackers in dark basements. Today, it’s a sophisticated business empire that’s reshaping our digital security landscape. Here are five ways ransomware will be evolving in 2025.
5 Ransomware Trends We Will See in 2025
- Ransomware will continue to dominate headlines despite the rise in cybercrime as a whole.
- The business-ification of digital crime means a lower barrier to entry.
- The rise of AI-powered social engineering.
- A global pushback against cybercrime will begin.
- Healthcare and medical devices will become bigger targets.
1. Ransomware Will Continue to Dominate Headlines
Although various cybercrimes like compromised business emails and pig butchering scams continue to plague us, ransomware captures our attention for one simple reason: It has its own PR machine. Even if an email compromise succeeds in getting your grandmother to fork over monthly payments, the bad actors won’t advertise their success in fooling her or their newly found cash deposits.
Other cybercriminals prefer to operate in the shadows. But ransomware gangs are the showmen of the digital underground. Ransomware actors are adept at turning cybercrime into theater. That’s because they know that the more headlines they make, the more affiliates will join their scam, and the more opportunities they have to infiltrate organizations. At the end of the day, that means more ransom payouts.
Ransomware actors are known to write up press releases and media campaigns. They make sure the press knows who got hit, even to the point of making up victims so they can get media attention. It's not just about the attack anymore — it’s about the spectacle.
That’s why Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) has been such a successful business model for these threat actors. Which brings us to…
2. The Business-ification of Digital Crime Means a Lower Barrier to Entry
Remember when being a hacker required advanced coding skills, and the culprit most likely was sitting in his parent’s basement? Those days are gone. Modern ransomware operations, or RaaS teams, run like legitimate companies, complete with specialized departments:
- Developers who craft the malicious code
- Marketing teams who recruit new talent
- Professional negotiators who handle victim communications
- Financial specialists who manage cryptocurrency transactions
- PR teams who ensure maximum media impact
The barrier to entry has dropped so low that virtually anyone with minimal technical knowledge can join these operations through RaaS platforms.
No coding skills? No problem. You can join as an initial access broker who scans systems looking for vulnerabilities or extract stolen credentials.
Looking for a service operations negotiator position? All you have to do is pay for the scripts (in any language you want) and help your affiliates carry out the attack.
And even if you do have the technical skills, there are so many leaked ransomware codes out there that you don’t need to invest any money. You can instantly become a ransomware operator.
With ransomware payments in 2024 the highest they have ever been and minimal consequences for perpetrators, the financial incentives for joining ransomware gangs are significant. It darkly reflects the ransomware industry’s democratization.
3. The Rise of AI-Powered Social Engineering
The most chilling development for 2025 isn’t just about technology – it’s about how AI is revolutionizing social engineering. Recent attacks, like the MGM breach, show how criminals are using AI-generated voices to impersonate legitimate employees. A new term has even been coined: vishing, short for voice phishing. whereby attackers will scan voices online and create AI-generated impersonations over the phone. Imagine receiving a call from your CEO, except it’s not really them. Instead, it’s an AI clone trained on their public speaking appearances.
Groups like Scattered Spider are pros at this, and they have turned LinkedIn profiles and corporate directories into reconnaissance tools, building detailed personas for their social engineering attacks. They’re not just breaking into systems; They’re breaking into our trust networks, and we’ll only see this frightening tactic become more sophisticated in 2025.
4. A Global Pushback Against Cybercrime Will Begin
After witnessing unprecedented, eight-figure ransomware payments in 2024, governments are finally taking coordinated action. Australia has implemented a playbook on ransom payments, while the UK looks to follow and may be implementing a licensing system for ransom payments. Florida and North Carolina have already banned public entity payments, and more jurisdictions are following suit.
International task forces are forming, sharing intelligence across borders. Although arrests remain rare, the focus has shifted to disrupting the infrastructure that makes ransomware profitable. It's becoming a global chess game between criminals and law enforcement.
This escalation between ransomware and law enforcement will be difficult at first. As much as we would love companies to step up their security, these ransom-banning enforcements may be the only way to get companies to implement tighter security and BDR procedures. This will by all means frighten companies in 2025, but it may be the only way that ransom actors are deterred.
5. Healthcare and Medical Devices Will Become Targets
More than any other industry, ransomware attacks in healthcare are considered to cross a line. For example, when we see media reporting that hospitals are temporarily shut down and thus medical procedures are delayed or even cancelled, this is a headline grabbing tactic for bad actors.
But what happens when, even more than IT systems, medical devices have been infiltrated?
Although few people would pay a ransom to unlock their smart fridge, medical devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators present a terrifying new frontier. Imagine insulin pumps being held hostage. This type of attack is no longer about data or systems, but human lives. The healthcare sector’s rapid digitization has created new vulnerabilities that criminals are eager to exploit.
How to Protect Your Organization From Ransomware
The future of defense lies in five key areas.
5 Ways to Protect Your Organization From Ransomware
- Use immutable backups.
- Ensure immediate recovery.
- Don’t rely on SaaS tools.
- Build in redundancy.
- Test regularly.
Use Immutable Backups
Immutable backups cannot be altered or deleted. This ensures that even if a ransomware attack does gain access to your backups, no one (not even your admin) can alter or delete them.
Ensure Immediate Recovery
All of the backups in the world, no matter where they are located, will not save you from downtime if you aren’t able to recover instantaneously. Ensure full environmental instant recovery complete with captured network settings. Eliminate the need for manual configuration during critical moments.
Don’t Rely on SaaS Tools
SaaS solutions add an increased security risk due to their shared platforms that act as an increased attack surface. IaaS tools ensure you are not sharing your data with any third party as the backup instance (VM) sits within your own cloud environment.
Build in Redundancy
Cross-account and cross-cloud redundancy ensure your backups are air-gapped and completely protected. By storing your backups across isolated cloud environments, your data remains safe even if a cyberattack, failure, or disaster affects one account or one cloud provider.
Test Regularly
Regular, realistic testing of recovery procedures ensuring your recovery order, network configurations, and disaster recovery procedures are in place and ready to go. Choose a tool that can run these tests frequently, preferable on a schedule. Be sure you can generate email reports for full disclosure and transparency to stakeholders that systems are working and ready for a healthy failover.
Prioritize Security at All Levels
The most crucial shift, however, isn’t technical. It’s organizational. Leadership must move beyond viewing cybersecurity defense as an IT problem and recognize it as a fundamental business risk. Regular tabletop exercises, testing backup systems, and clear communication of vulnerabilities are becoming as essential as quarterly financial reviews.
As we move deeper into 2025, the ransomware landscape will continue to evolve. The question isn’t whether your organization will face an attack, but how well you've prepared for when it comes. In this new reality, resilience isn't just about technology – it’s about people, processes and preparation.
