"In 2025, trust became the most exploited surface in modern computing. For decades, cyber security has centered on vulnerabilities, software bugs, misconfigured systems and weak network protections. Recent incidents in cyber security marked a clear turning point, as attackers no longer needed to rely solely on traditional techniques. This shift wasn't subtle. Instead, it emerged across nearly every major incident: supply chain breaches leveraging trusted platforms, credential abuse across federated identity systems,"
"In other words, even well-configured systems could be abused if defenders assumed that trusted equals safe. Highlighting the lessons learned in 2025 is essential for cyber security professionals to understand the evolving threat landscape and adapt strategies accordingly. The perimeter is irrelevant - trust is the threat vector Organisations discovered that attackers exploit assumptions just as effectively as vulnerabilities by simply borrowing trust signals that security teams overlooked."
"They blended into environments using standard developer tools, cloud-based services and signed binaries that were never designed with strong telemetry or behavioural controls. The rapid growth of AI in enterprise workflows was also a contributing factor. From code generation and operations automation to business analytics and customer support, AI systems began making decisions previously made by people. This introduced a new category of risk: automation that inherits trust without validation."
Trust became the primary exploited surface in 2025 as attackers shifted from traditional vulnerabilities to abusing trusted signals and platforms. Supply chain breaches, federated identity credential abuse, legitimate remote-access tool misuse, cloud-service exploitation, and AI-generated content bypasses all demonstrated that well-configured systems can be abused when trust is assumed. Attackers blend into environments using developer tools, cloud services and signed binaries lacking telemetry or behavioral controls. Rapid AI adoption introduced automation that inherits trust without validation, creating stealthy incidents that mimic legitimate activity. Defenders must prioritize telemetry, behavioral controls, verification of trusted pathways, and reconsider which signals indicate sensitivity.
#trust-based-attacks #supply-chain-compromise #federated-identity-abuse #ai-automation-risk #telemetry-and-behavior-monitoring
Read at ComputerWeekly.com
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