A new generation of sophisticated, AI-driven threats are forcing businesses to invest more heavily to deter online threats, with 99% of leaders in the digital defense field planning to increase their budgets over the next two to three years, according to the 2025 KPMG Cybersecurity Survey.
At the same time, younger consumers and their web-centric behaviors are changing the nature of cybercrime, according to a study from Cognyte, a data processing and investigative analytics operator. As such, new forms of illicit activity need to be monitored and addressed.
The KPMG survey polled more than 300 C-suite and senior security leaders, who indicated that spending is already surging, with 98% confirming they’ve had budget increases go through in the past 12 months. The additional investment comes as 83% of organizations report a rise in cyberattacks, including everything from phishing and ransomware assaults to more advanced AI-powered social engineering swindles, KPMG maintained.
Among those increasing their cybersecurity considerations, 54% of survey respondents said they are planning on budget increases of 6% to 10%. However, 52% said they face competing priorities for budget allocation among data security and privacy, identity and access management and cloud security functions. Although 38% of cybersecurity leaders see artificial intelligence-powered attacks as a major immediate challenge, 70% of organizations already are dedicating more than 10% of their budgets to AI-related cyber initiatives. As they advance programs, AI will have the greatest impact in proactively identifying and stopping threats, the respondents noted, as applied in fraud prevention, cited by 57%, predictive analytics (56%) and enhanced detection (53%).
Still, 53% of respondents acknowledged that a lack of qualified candidates is a major challenge faced, forcing them to increase compensation and boost internal training, cited by 49% in each case, and rely more on external partners, cited by 25%. In their efforts, 42% of respondents said they are making identity and access management a top budget priority for the next two to three years, closely following data security and privacy and cloud security. As organizations scale cloud and AI operations, the evidence suggests, stronger identity governance and access controls will be key to protecting sensitive data and systems as well as building a more resilient security posture, KPMG asserted.
The Cognyte study made the point that, with Gen Z, Gen Alpha and Gen Beta, tech-fueled crime is changing shape and might become even more pervasive. Criminals are increasingly using peer-to-peer payments, crypto wallets and mobile-first finance apps to initiate frauds, conduct money laundering and set up scams.
Younger users are often eager to transact quickly and might not recognize red flags, especially in decentralized platforms with light oversight. As many prioritize speed and convenience over caution young digital natives expect financial transactions to be instant, seamless and mobile-first, which can increase their exposure to criminals who are diversifying their schemes. For example, gamified scams are tricking teens into becoming unwitting accomplices to crimes. Multiplayer game scenarios may trick teens into performing seemingly innocent tasks, such as helping with a trade or testing a modification, as a way to get them to handle stolen goods or laundering currency. Cognyte noted that a report from Lloyds Bank found one in five gamers have encountered such scams, yet almost three in 10 couldn’t recognize the tactics involved, and only 8% had seen any safety guidance.
As such law enforcement and companies operating online will have to monitor and respond to new threats occurring within their spheres of activity to keep digital interchange safe.
