Heaptalk, Jakarta — Experts at Kaspersky predict that the trend of financial cyber threats for smartphones, known as mobile finance, will increase in 2025 as the number of attacks using traditional banking or financial malware for PCs decreases.
According to anonymous Kaspersky telemetry, the number of users affected by cyber threats on mobile finance in India increased by 145% in 2024 compared to 2023. This trend is expected to continue in 2025. These findings are detailed in the Kaspersky Security Bulletin: crimeware and financial cyber threats in 2025, which discusses the evolution of the financial cybersecurity landscape in the coming year.
Last year, most of the Kaspersky experts’ predictions for the evolution of crimeware & financial cyber threats in 2024 came true. This included increased AI-powered cyberattacks, a surge in fraud schemes targeting direct payment systems, an increase in open-source backdoor packages, and more advanced ransomware techniques.
Inserting false data into databases
In 2025, Kaspersky predicts further advancements in ransomware techniques aside from threats to mobile finance. First, ransomware will silently manipulate or insert false data into databases rather than only encrypt data. Even if decrypted, this ‘data poisoning’ technique casts doubt on the accuracy of a business’s entire data set.
Secondly, advanced ransomware groups will use post-quantum cryptography as quantum computing develops. The encryption techniques used by ‘anti-quantum’ ransomware are designed to withstand decryption attempts from both classical and quantum computers, making it almost impossible for victims to decrypt their data.
Thirdly, ransomware-as-a-service is projected to grow. Less experienced threat actors can launch sophisticated attacks with kits as cheap as $40, increasing the number of incidents.
Adopting new techniques to fight law
A surge in attacks based on stolen information is also expected in 2025. Popular stealers like Lumma, Vidar, and Redline will continue to adapt and adopt new techniques to fight law enforcement pressure. New players will also emerge, and all stolen information will be used.
The company also predicts attacks on central banks and Open Banking initiatives. These will be attacks on instant payment systems run by central banks, allowing cybercriminals to access sensitive data.
Supply chain attacks on open-source projects are also projected to increase. Following the XZ backdoor incident, the open-source community will likely uncover new attack attempts and previously successfully implanted backdoors. In the future, more AI and machine learning will work in defense/law enforcement.
“We will see AI increasingly adopted in cyber defense to speed up anomaly detection, reduce analysis time through predictive capabilities, automate response actions, and strengthen policies to counter emerging threats,” Kaspersky stated.
New blockchain-based threats
Additionally, Kaspersky forecasted the emergence of new blockchain-based threats due to the need for secure and private networks based on blockchain and peer-to-peer technology. As a result, new malware developed using these obscure protocols will be distributed and used for various purposes.
“In 2025 and beyond, resilience against financial cyber threats will require robust security measures from individuals and businesses. The best defense will combine threat intelligence, predictive analysis, continuous monitoring, and a zero-trust mindset to protect critical data and operations from sophisticated attackers,” stated Fabio Assolini, head of the Latin America unit of the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky.
In his conclusion, Assolini emphasized the importance of conducting regular cyber training programs for employees and warning them about potential cyber threats. Insufficiently informed staff is one of the most common initial attack vectors that can cause severe financial losses for an organization.
