Cyber Awareness Month with Xopero Software: Trends for 2025 and Predictions for 2026

October is the European Cybersecurity Month. It’s also the perfect time to look ahead and define the priorities for protecting your digital assets. While the threat landscape evolves month by month, one thing remains unchanged: cybersecurity is now the foundation of stability for every organization.

At Xopero Software, we support organizations around the world by delivering enterprise-grade solutions for data backup, business continuity, and disaster recovery. But our mission goes beyond technology—it’s also about building awareness and sharing knowledge that helps organizations respond more effectively to evolving threats.

That’s why we are creating the report “Cybersecurity Trends and Challenges 2025/2026”—a comprehensive overview of the key directions that will shape the future of digital security. Today, we’re sharing some of the most important insights and forecasts that every modern organization should have on its radar.

Cybersecurity Trends for 2025: What’s Already Happening?

Ransomware Reimagined

Ransomware remains one of the most serious threats to businesses, but its nature is constantly evolving. Affiliate models such as RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service) are making it easier for cybercriminals to launch attacks without advanced technical skills. The use of artificial intelligence is further increasing both the scale and effectiveness of these operations.

Phishing and Social Engineering 2.0

Phishing is not losing its relevance—quite the opposite, it’s becoming more sophisticated and personalized. The automation of attack processes and the rise of PhaaS (Phishing-as-a-Service) mean that even experienced users can fall victim to highly targeted campaigns.

Mobility Under Scrutiny

Mobile devices are increasingly the first point of contact with corporate infrastructure, and they are significantly less protected than traditional computers. Their growing importance in business processes makes them a primary target for cyberattacks in the coming years.

AI: A Double-Edged Sword

Artificial intelligence is now a crucial tool for defenders, supporting incident analysis, automating response, and speeding up threat detection. But cybercriminals also use AI for malicious purposes: generating harmful code, creating deepfakes, and designing convincing phishing campaigns.

Cyberwarfare and Attacks on Critical Infrastructure

Rising geopolitical tensions are increasingly shifting into cyberspace. Attacks on critical infrastructure—such as energy, transportation, and telecommunications systems—are becoming a key element of state-level strategies and one of the greatest challenges for global security.

Cybersecurity predictions for 2026: What to Expect?

• Greater focus on cyber resilience: Organizations will invest not only in prevention but also in rapid response and recovery capabilities after an incident.

• Backup and business continuity as a cornerstone: The importance of backups and disaster recovery (DR) plans will grow, and enterprise-class solutions will become standard even among SMBs.

• New regulations and compliance: The implementation of NIS2, DORA, and the expanding cyber insurance market will force organizations to rethink their approach to security.

• Cloud and hybrid environment security: As infrastructure migrates, proper configuration, segmentation, and access control will become increasingly important.

• Education and awareness: Investing in human competencies will become as crucial as investing in technology.

The “Cybersecurity Trends and Challenges 2025/2026” Report

The full version of trends, analyses, and recommendations will be published in our upcoming report “Cybersecurity Trends and Challenges 2025/2026.” It will serve as a comprehensive source of knowledge about today’s most pressing threats, best protection practices, key cybersecurity areas, and strategic recommendations for 2026. Here’s what you can expect:

Modern Cyber Threats

The report explores the most significant threats affecting organizations today. We’ll examine ransomware in detail, focusing on its evolution and new tactics such as affiliate schemes. Phishing and social engineering will also feature prominently, including new trends like PhaaS and automated attacks. A dedicated chapter will cover mobile security, which remains underprotected despite being more vulnerable than desktop environments. We will also address cyberwarfare together with attacks on critical infrastructure and online disinformation commonly associated with it.

Best Practices for Protection

We will discuss best practices for strengthening resilience and maintaining business continuity, including response strategies and the role of drills and simulations. Backup strategies, RTO/RPO optimization, and cloud security—including misconfiguration risks and evolving protection trends—will also be covered. Naturally, we’ll address AI as both a defensive and an offensive tool. Finally, we’ll dedicate a section to compliance, including insights into NIS2, DORA, and cyber insurance.

Recommendations and Key Takeaways

Our report will also present strategic recommendations for 2026, highlighting the key technologies, skills of tomorrow, and investment priorities for cyber resilience. It will conclude with essential takeaways and future directions.

Expert Insights from the Field

No report is complete without real-world insights. That’s why we’ve invited IT security professionals to share their views on specific risks and trends, real-world implementation examples, and future recommendations.

This ensures the report is not just a theoretical discussion, but addresses the practical challenges organizations face every day.

Your Valuable Contribution to Cyber Awareness

Numbers and data provide a clearer picture of the scale of each trend or threat. They also make them resonate more strongly.

To collect valuable data and understand how organizations perceive threats, protect themselves, and anticipate future challenges, we have prepared a survey covering the topics discussed in the report.

If you are involved in cybersecurity within your organization, we invite you to take part in our study and co-create the report. Your voice matters, and your perspective is invaluable—we believe it will help raise the level of cyber awareness among organizations.

👉 To complete the survey, click this link or scan the QR code below. It only takes a few minutes, but it can deliver tremendous value to everyone working in or interested in cybersecurity.

📌 The survey is fully anonymous, and responses will be used only as part of aggregated analyses.

Celebrate Cybersecurity Month with Us!

October isn’t just about reports—it’s also about learning through engagement. Follow us on social media and join our:

• Backup Academy: A series of educational webinars dedicated to backup, data resilience, and best protection practices. You can find the full schedule and registration link here.

• Weekly Cybersecurity Challenges “Mission: Cybersafe—4 Weeks of CyberSec”: Every Monday in October, we’ll post new challenges on our LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, allowing you to test your knowledge and win great prizes!

Let’s build stronger cyber awareness together and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. After all, digital security starts with knowledge.