2025 Cybersecurity Reality Check: Breaches Hidden, Attack Surfaces Growing, and AI Misperceptions Rising

According to Bitdefender's 2025 Cybersecurity Assessment, the study combines input from more than 1,200 IT and security professionals across six countries with an analysis of 700,000 cyber incidents by Bitdefender Labs. The findings highlight a troubling trend: 58% of security professionals were told to keep a breach confidential, a 38% jump since 2023, raising concerns about transparency and trust.

Living-off-the-land techniques now feature in 84% of high-severity attacks, prompting 68% of surveyed organisations to list attack surface reduction as a top priority, with the U.S. and Singapore leading adoption. The report also notes a perception gap around AI, with 67% believing AI-driven attacks are increasing and 58% citing AI-powered malware as a top concern, yet suggesting that AI threats may be overstated relative to other tactics.

Leadership misalignment remains a risk, with 45% of C-level executives very confident in managing cyber risk versus 19% of mid-level managers. The piece was published on 1 October 2025.