Annual data breach forecast predicts spike in AI-related incidents

Experian’s 12th annual Data Breach Industry Forecast predicts a range of potential cybersecurity trends in 2025, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront.

“While supply chain breaches and ransomware dominated the cyber landscape in 2024, AI-related incidents will likely become a major headline maker in 2025,” Experian Vice President of Global Data Breach Resolution Michael Bruemmer said in a release. “Investments in cybersecurity will increase to tackle this emerging threat while hackers are having a field day leveraging it for everything from phishing attacks and password cracking to producing malware and deepfakes.”

The number of data breaches and consumers impacted this year has already exceeded 2023, according to Experian. It made five predictions for 2025:

• The number of teens involved in cyber hacking will continue to grow. According to the FBI, the average age of someone arrested for cybercrime is 19. Many teens will have been recruited into the “business” by more sophisticated fraudsters, who reach them through online gaming, chat and social media. As more states pass legislation against revenge porn, cyberbullying, and other forms of online fraudulent attacks, Experian expects a dramatic increase in the number of teens prosecuted for hacking and fraud.
• Internal fraud will rise. As more companies train employees on the responsible use of AI, there could be a marked increase in the use of that AI education for internal theft, sensitive information sourcing and other crimes. Next year could see at least one global brand impacted by fraud perpetrated by an insider trained on AI, Experian predicted.
• Global criminals have targeted large data centers for years, but power sources have emerged as a new target, with the exponential growth of the use of generative AI. On average, a single ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times more electricity to process than a standard Google search. Since cloud infrastructure and data center technology and security vary widely from country to country, cyberattacks may successfully jeopardize a nation-state’s cloud infrastructure through an attack on the power needed to run it.
• The next year may see a marked increase in hacker-on-hacker attacks. Hackers being duped by more malicious hackers and losing money is a fast-growing cybercrime trend, according to Experian.
• AI-driven fraud is increasing in sophistication so quickly that fraudsters will soon be able to create virtually undiscernible ID documents that can fool identification systems. Government agencies could move to more dynamic identification means to replace static driver’s licenses and social security cards, like an online 3D barcode used for event tickets.