FEATURE : 2025 CIOS ’ PRIORITY
A KEY PRIORITY FOR CIOS IN 2025 IS TRANSITIONING TO QUANTUM-SAFE ENCRYPTION METHODS .
Another priority is identity security . Modern cyberattacks increasingly target identity rather than systems , requiring a shift from endpoint protection to robust identity verification practices . Continuous verification and improved identity management protocols will be critical to safeguarding privileged access .
Additionally , CIOs must address the complexities introduced by AI .
While AI has enabled advancements in automation and threat detection , it has also lowered the barrier for attackers . As AI evolves , CIOs should balance the potential benefits with the risks , ensuring that security investments do not overwhelm their teams with unintegrated tools .
Finally , infrastructure and system upgrades will be a pressing concern as Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 in 2025 . CIOs must plan for hardware upgrades to meet the security requirements of newer operating systems while managing the transition to alternative platforms for systems that become obsolete . already accelerating shift we have seen from focusing on hardening network perimeters to one of zero trust identity-based defenses that assume a breach is eventually inevitable .
New budgets will be created , and allocated budgets for IT and security will be redirected to solve both the symptom secrets sprawl and find better ways to manage the non-human identity lifecycle . We will see a new breed of tooling emerge to address the observability needs around machine identity creation , permissions , use , and eventual revocation at a global scale .
This will be a challenging road to travel for larger enterprises with thousands of legacy codebases . Still , there is evidence this shift has already begun in the largest organizations . Smaller players and the SMB market will most likely follow once the tool ecosystem expands . Startups are , as always , in the greatest position to leverage technological advancements in this space , as we have previously seen with SaaS offerings , giving them a competitive advantage as they build their platforms faster and safer than larger companies can .
Ali Shaikh , Chief Product Officer , Graphiant
For CIOs , the priority in 2025 is to ensure that enterprise networks are modernized to meet the demands of artificial intelligence ( AI ). As AI becomes pervasive in business operations , networks must be upgraded to facilitate data movement , compliance , and performance .
By prioritizing these areas – quantum readiness , identity security , AI risk management , and infrastructure upgrades – CIOs will be better positioned to mitigate emerging threats and protect their organizations in 2025 .
Dwayne McDaniel , Developer Advocate , GitGuardian
Non-human identities will come into focus as a major security and operational issue , and we need new approaches and more resources . As CISOs and other executives move to make their enterprises more resilient , Identity and Access Management ( IAM ) is going to shift away from being an afterthought of IT that Security teams need to address to keep their customers safe and will become an operational concern with leaders reporting directly to the C-suite .
While much of the current focus of IAM is on human identity and access , the markets are beginning to recognize the magnitude of the risk that mismanaged machine identities and their long-lived access keys pose to the whole of the enterprise . This builds on the
Business leaders must embrace a network architecture that delivers on privacy and security while accelerating on-demand delivery of new services to their customers . This strategy ensures businesses meet AI ’ s high-speed data transfer requirements while maintaining cost efficiency and agility . CIOs must explore implementing Network-as-a-Service ( NaaS ) solutions , which provide scalability , cost savings , and advanced features like AI-driven traffic management and automated provisioning . This model empowers businesses to respond dynamically to AI demands without significant hardware investments .
With increasing use of AI , security and compliance will require increased focus and investment . Leaders should be prepared to respond to real-time threats and have an infrastructure that is ready to meet compliance regulations and global data sovereignty laws . AI models process sensitive data , often involving proprietary information , customer data , or critical business insights . Ensuring the security of this data throughout the AI lifecycle – during data collection , processing and storage – is paramount . p
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