A new report from IBM’s X-Force 2025 Threat Intelligence Index shows that cybercriminals are changing their tactics. Instead of mainly using ransomware to lock systems, more hackers are now trying to quietly steal login information. IBM studied over 150 billion security events each day from 130+ countries and found that infostealers, a type of malware sent through emails to steal data, rose by 84% in 2024 compared to 2023.
This change means that instead of damaging systems right away, attackers are sneaking into networks to steal passwords and other sensitive information. Mark Hughes, a cybersecurity leader at IBM, said attackers are finding ways into complex cloud systems without making a mess. He also advised businesses to stop relying on basic protection methods. Instead, companies should improve how they manage passwords, fix weaknesses in multi-factor authentication, and actively search for hidden threats before any damage happens.
Critical industries such as energy, healthcare, and transportation were the main targets in the past year. About 70% of the incidents IBM helped handle involved critical infrastructure. In around 25% of these cases, attackers got in by taking advantage of known flaws in systems that had not been fixed. Many hackers now prefer stealing important data instead of locking it with ransomware. Data theft was the method in 18% of cases, while encryption-based attacks made up only 11%.
The study also found that Asia and North America were attacked the most, together making up nearly 60% of global incidents. Asia
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