The State of Cybersecurity: Shaping the Strategies of the Future
Cybersecurity is probably one of the biggest pain points—and budget line items— that most IT departments and their respective organizations must deal with in 2025 and going forward.
The risks raised by adopting the cloud, enabling and hybrid remote work, and the general increase in cyber-attacks as criminals get more sophisticated and savvier.
To learn more about what IT professionals are currently dealing with, the Parallels team conducted a survey of 600 IT professionals to get their thoughts and plans regarding cybersecurity in 2025 and beyond.
I’m happy to share more details—read on!
The Parallels 2025 Cybersecurity Report
One of our more significant findings is that nearly 9 out of 10 of those surveyed said their organization was planning on increasing their security budget this year, and nearly half again said they would increase their security spending significantly.
But what are they spending their security budgets on?
Some features and methods that those surveyed ranked as extremely important include multi-factor authentication, robust data encryption policies, and data loss prevention tools.
Adopting or maintaining Zero Trust architecture and/or Cloud Security Posture Management, strict access control policies, and secure file sharing protocols were also deemed important.
What Challenges Keep Cybersecurity Professionals Awake?
Some of the biggest challenges reported were related to enabling remote and hybrid work (and with 84% of organizations allowing for remote work, this issue is definitely here to stay).
Providing secure remote access to users in various locations and managing and monitoring various endpoints is increasingly complex in 2025, and it only stands to become more so as “work from anywhere” continues to be the norm.
Perhaps most importantly, there’s a growing understanding that cybersecurity is a mission shared across the entire IT infrastructure and organization.
Cyber-attacks are getting increasingly more complex, with sophisticated social engineering attempts underscoring the success of phishing attacks, getting users to click on or otherwise engage with malware, and more.
Ensuring that hybrid and remote employees are educated about risk awareness is essential. Organizations that allow for hybrid or remote work also need to extend monitoring across a larger number of devices and networks, making for greater challenges and a larger workload for anyone responsible for cybersecurity at the organization.
The IT professionals we surveyed noted incident response planning and difficulty meeting compliance requirements as key challenges they are facing now.
The Current Looming Threats
While there are plenty of reasons for cybersecurity professionals to lose sleep at night, some nightmares are more frightening than others.
Our survey audience reported that ransomware and malware attacks were their primary concern, with cloud vulnerabilities following closely behind.
Human error (think weak passwords or basic negligence) and social engineering rounded out the list.
While having the right software and hardware in place can help protect organizations, based on this list of concerns there is no substitute for training all teams on security threats and how to protect themselves and the organization.
Mitigating Threats: Popular Cybersecurity Tactics and Strategies in 2025 and Beyond
Firewalls and antivirus solutions are the first measure of defense for many, including most folks we surveyed. VPNs remain common but other browser isolation tools and enterprise browsers are also growing in popularity.
Only 11% provided security training for users, despite the need for more training. Security awareness and education about different types of threats and attack vectors is more important than ever, given the increasing sophistication of malware, phishing techniques, and related dangers.
Addressing Cybersecurity Challenges and Opportunities with Parallels
At Parallels, we empower our customers to take control of their security measures with solutions that have Zero Trust baked in. This, combined with offering intensive cyber safety programs for all employees, is the key to safeguarding data and assets.
Parallels Browser Isolation, combined with a VDI or DaaS solution like Parallels RAS or Parallels DaaS, enables a robust modern security posture, providing the foundation organizations need now—and in the coming months and years.
Cybersec Europe 2025: The Value of Connections and Knowledge Sharing
I touched on the value of educating your team and all members of your organization about cybersecurity already, but sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas with your peers is just as essential.
That’s why the Parallels team looks forward to attending Cybersec Europe — to connect with, learn from, and share our own experiences with other leading professionals facing similar challenges.
Meet the Parallels team at Cybersec 2025!
I and other members of the team will be attending Cybersec 2025. Connect with us at booth 05.B049 for a coffee and to learn more about Parallels Workspace Solutions.
Together, we’ll build a stronger, more secure infrastructure.
