Forces that drive cybersecurity's lasting effects

Published on 10/28/2025 by Ron Gadd

Photo by FlyD on Unsplash

Why the cyber battlefield is expanding faster than ever

The internet has gone from a research tool to the nervous system of modern life. Every new device, every cloud‑based service, and every AI‑driven workflow adds a fresh entry point for attackers. In 2021, a systematic review of cybersecurity datasets highlighted how the sheer volume of online activity forces threat actors to evolve their tactics as quickly as defenders can collect and analyze data【source】.

But the growth isn’t just technical. The global economy now hinges on digital transactions, and a single breach can ripple through supply chains, stock markets, and even national security. That interdependence makes cyber risk a board‑room priority, not just an IT concern. When a high‑profile ransomware incident shuts down a hospital or a municipal water system, the headlines turn into policy debates, insurance premium hikes, and a surge in demand for cyber‑risk professionals.

All of this creates a feedback loop: more value in the digital realm attracts more sophisticated adversaries, which in turn pushes organizations to invest more heavily in security—only to open up new attack surfaces as they adopt the latest tools. The battlefield is expanding on three fronts at once: technology, economics, and geopolitics.

The hidden engines: economic, political, and human forces

Economic incentives

Ransomware as a service (RaaS) – Criminal groups now rent out ransomware kits, turning a technical exploit into a scalable business model.
Cyber‑insurance premiums – Insurers have begun pricing policies based on an organization’s security posture, creating a market incentive to adopt best practices.
Dark‑web marketplaces – Stolen credentials, zero‑day exploits, and even “as‑a‑service” phishing kits are bought and sold like any other commodity.

When profit is at stake, even low‑skill actors can launch attacks that generate real revenue. This democratization of cybercrime means the threat landscape is no longer dominated by nation‑state actors alone.

Political and geopolitical pressure

Nation‑states view cyber capabilities as extensions of traditional military power. Recent reports from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) show a sharp uptick in state‑backed espionage campaigns targeting The goal isn’t always immediate disruption; it’s often long‑term intelligence gathering and the ability to shape geopolitical outcomes without firing a shot.

Human behavior and the talent gap

People remain the weakest link. The Covid‑19 pandemic, for instance, forced a massive shift to remote work, exposing employees to unsecured home networks and phishing lures. A survey of post‑pandemic cyber incidents recorded hacking attacks as the most frequent (37% of 895 attacks), followed by spam email attacks (13%) and malicious domains (9%)【source】.

At the same time, the industry faces a chronic shortage of skilled professionals. According to (ISC)²’s 2023 Workforce Study, the global cybersecurity talent gap stands at roughly 4.1 million professionals. This scarcity fuels higher salaries, increased reliance on automated tools, and, paradoxically, more opportunities for adversaries to exploit poorly configured automation.

From pandemic panic to permanent change: what the data tells us

The pandemic acted like a stress test for digital ecosystems. Organizations scrambled to secure VPNs, cloud platforms, and collaborative tools, often with limited visibility.

Hacking attacks – 330 out of 895 incidents (37%)
Spam/email attacks – 13%
Malicious domains – 9%
Mobile app exploits – 8%
Phishing – 7%
Malware – 7%
DDoS, browsing and website app attacks, and others – each around 6%
Business Email Compromise (BEC) – 4%
Ransomware – 2%
Botnets and APTs – 2% and 1% respectively【source】

These numbers reveal two trends that are likely to persist:

Diversification of attack surfaces – As employees use personal devices and cloud services, attackers spread their efforts across more entry points.
Increased reliance on social engineering – Phishing and BEC remain low‑tech but high‑return tactics, especially when combined with compromised credentials from earlier breaches.

The study’s authors warned that governments and organizations must stay “resilient and innovative” to counter long‑lasting effects of the pandemic or any similar crisis【source】. That call to action has already spurred several lasting changes in how security is architected.

How the pressure is reshaping defenses and business models

Zero‑trust becomes the default

Zero‑trust architecture (ZTA) assumes no implicit trust, even for users inside the corporate perimeter. The shift to remote work accelerated ZTA adoption because traditional perimeter defenses (firewalls, VPNs) proved brittle under massive, distributed traffic. Companies are now deploying micro‑segmentation, continuous authentication, and least‑privilege access controls as standard practice.

Automation and AI‑driven threat hunting

Given the talent shortage, organizations are turning to machine‑learning models to sift through massive log data and flag anomalies. The 2021 systematic review of cybersecurity datasets emphasized that high‑quality, diverse datasets are essential for training effective detection algorithms【source】. However, reliance on AI also introduces new attack vectors—adversarial machine learning can manipulate models to miss malicious activity.

Cyber‑risk as a boardroom metric

Cybersecurity is now a key performance indicator (KPI) in many C‑suite dashboards. Executive compensation packages sometimes include cyber‑risk metrics, and board members are receiving regular briefings on threat posture. The rise of cyber‑insurance also forces companies to disclose risk assessments, creating a feedback loop that incentivizes better security hygiene.

Supply‑chain hardening

Recent high‑profile supply‑chain attacks (e.g., the SolarWinds incident) demonstrated how a single compromised vendor can cascade across thousands of downstream customers. In response, many organizations are demanding security attestations from suppliers, implementing software‑bill‑of‑materials (SBOM) tracking, and adopting “vendor risk management” platforms.

Key takeaways for leaders:*

Prioritize visibility across all assets—cloud, on‑prem, and edge.
Embed security into development pipelines (DevSecOps).
Allocate budget for both technology and ongoing staff training.
Treat cyber‑risk as a strategic business issue, not just an IT expense.

Looking ahead: the lasting ripple effects on society and tech

The forces driving cybersecurity today will shape the next decade in several profound ways:

Regulatory expansion – The European Union’s Digital Services Act and the U.S. Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity signal a trend toward stricter compliance requirements. Companies that proactively adopt privacy‑by‑design and robust incident‑response plans will face fewer penalties and enjoy a competitive edge.
Normalization of digital identity – As biometrics, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), and self‑sovereign identity solutions mature, the reliance on passwords will wane. This could dramatically reduce phishing success rates, but it also introduces new privacy concerns that regulators will need to address.
Economic redistribution – Cyber‑insurance premiums and liability exposures will push smaller firms toward managed security service providers (MSSPs). This consolidation could create a few dominant players in the security market, raising questions about vendor lock‑in and market competition.
Social trust erosion – Continued high‑profile breaches erode public confidence in digital services. The long‑term societal impact may include slower adoption of emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles or telemedicine, unless trust can be rebuilt through transparent security practices.
Talent pipeline evolution – Educational institutions are integrating cybersecurity curricula at earlier stages, and micro‑credential programs are booming. Over the next five years, we can expect a more diversified talent pool, but the demand‑supply gap will likely remain a strategic concern for most organizations.

In short, the forces propelling cybersecurity—technological acceleration, economic incentives, geopolitical competition, and human behavior—are interwoven. Their combined effect isn’t a temporary spike but a permanent shift toward a more security‑centric worldview. Embracing this reality now, rather than reacting to the next headline, will determine whether an organization merely survives or thrives in the digital age.