Codebook readers spent the last couple of weeks looking into a crystal ball and sending me their predictions for 2025.

• Here's what you're all anticipating:

🤖 AI and security

"I expect we'll see a continued increase in very advanced levels of cross-account attacks thanks to AI-driven credential compromising. As new AI-powered attacks emerge, traditional security-awareness training programs are quickly becoming obsolete." —Dror Liwer, co-founder of Coro

"In 2025, we'll adopt the 'trust nothing, verify everything' mindset, as AI will impersonate everyone from public figures, personal contacts, even ourselves at a record rate." —Andre Durand, CEO and founder of Ping Identity

"In 2025, enterprises will truly see the scope of 'shadow AI' — that is, unsanctioned AI models used by staff that aren't properly governed." —Akiba Saeedi, vice president of product management at IBM Security

"Cybersecurity entrepreneurs, including those still in stealth, are already developing the next wave of AI innovation through AI agents, making this an emerging space that global VCs should closely monitor for early-stage opportunities." —Ofer Schreiber, senior partner, YL Ventures

⚠️ Cyber threats

"Beyond the 'AI hype train,' it's the more overlooked threats that will unleash the most devastating impacts. We continue to see organizations suffering from massive ransomware and supply chain attacks year after year — and 2025 will be no different." —Kevin Breen, senior director of threat research at Immersive Labs

"The reality is that attack types like ransomware and social engineering will continue to dominate the threat landscape because, unfortunately, bad actors have seen success with them in the past." —Dan Schiappa, chief product and services officer at Arctic Wolf

🔒 Data privacy

"As concerns over privacy and surveillance grow, a broader segment of nontechnical users will prioritize secure messaging and email platforms to safeguard personal communications from both domestic and foreign monitoring. This shift will be further driven by media narratives, government policies, and the strategic direction of the incoming White House administration." —Tom Hegel, principal threat researcher at SentinelLabs

"By 2025, data protection strategies will shift from solely securing data at rest or in transit to securing data in use. ... Incident response will move from annual table-top exercises to continuous testing through simulated attack platforms, enabling organizations to measure readiness in real time." —Adam Khan, vice president of global security operations at Barracuda

💡 Everything else

"Expect heightened regulatory pressure across industries, with a laser focus on supply chain resilience and compliance standards." —Feyza Haskaraman, principal at Menlo Ventures

"The proliferation of AI productivity tools will further accelerate investment in cybersecurity infrastructure as enterprises work to manage the new risks and complexities these tools introduce." —Casber Wang, partner at Sapphire Ventures

"With economic uncertainty persisting, organizations will focus on stretching their IT budgets while maintaining robust security. Repurposing existing hardware will gain traction as a sustainable and cost-effective strategy." —Carl Gersh, senior vice president of global marketing at IGEL

While security teams are away, hackers come out to play. This end-of-year holiday season was no different.

• Here are the headline breaches you missed while opening gifts.

🔍 The Treasury Department is investigating two China-linked hacks.

• Officials told Congress this week that hackers tied to China's government accessed some unclassified documents by breaking into the Treasury Department's account with cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust.
• U.S. officials told the Washington Post that Chinese government hackers also breached Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers economic sanctions, and the Office of the Treasury Secretary.

💻 Hackers have been infecting a number of Google Chrome extensions.

• Attackers published a malicious update of data-loss-prevention startup Cyberhaven's Chrome extension. The update was able to steal customer passwords and session tokens, according to an email sent last week to customers, per TechCrunch.
• The incident appears to be part of a series of attacks dating back to mid-December targeting browser extensions, Reuters reported.

✈️ Japan Airlines delayed flights due to a cyberattack.

• The airline paused both domestic and international flights the day after Christmas, and its mobile app was temporarily disabled.
• No customer information was leaked, and operations returned to normal later that day, per the New York Times.

@ D.C.

👀 Newly unsealed court documents help answer some of the lingering questions about then-President Trump's 2020 pardon of cybersecurity executive Chris Wade — including what crimes Wade actually committed. (Business Insider)

😬 The State Department's disinformation office closed on Christmas Eve after lawmakers failed to renew its funding and authorization. (CyberScoop)

🤖 OpenAI is tripling the size of its D.C. policy team as it continues to urge political leaders to give AI companies an edge in the economic and security race against China. (Politico)

@ Industry

💰 Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Siri violated users' privacy. (Reuters)

💸 Investors and bankers say the cybersecurity industry is primed for more mergers and acquisitions in 2025. (Wall Street Journal)

@ Hackers and hacks

💪🏻 Lumen is the latest U.S. telco to say it has removed the Salt Typhoon cyberespionage group from its networks. Verizon and AT&T made similar announcements during the holidays. (TechCrunch)

🎣 Corporate executives have received an influx of highly personalized phishing emails that security experts believe were created using AI tools. (Financial Times)

⚠️ Rhode Island officials said yesterday that hackers have started leaking data stolen last month from a state social services database. (Cybersecurity Dive)

❤️ Even if you're already home from the holidays, TechCrunch's guide for sharing cybersecurity advice with friends and family is still pretty helpful.

• Oh, perhaps it's time to declutter your own digital footprint while you're at it!