As we enter 2025, AI stands poised to revolutionise both physical and cybersecurity markets, says Philip Ingram MBE.
In the ever-evolving world of security, a new player has emerged, reshaping the rules of the game: Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As we enter 2025, AI stands poised to revolutionise both physical and cybersecurity markets, offering unprecedented protection while simultaneously presenting new and complex threats.
The importance of AI in security is such that the Government has just launched an all-new Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Research.
Receiving an initial £8.22 million round of central Government funding and inviting further investment and collaboration from industry.
In 2025, AI-powered surveillance systems will be the norm, not the exception.
These intelligent eyes will analyse behaviour patterns, detect anomalies and alert security personnel in real-time.
These systems will go beyond simple motion detection, understanding context and identifying potential security breaches before they occur.
For instance, they could distinguish between a worker moving equipment and a thief attempting to steal it, based on behaviour analysis and access permissions.
AI’s ability to process vast amounts of data will transform threat intelligence.
2025 will likely see AI systems sifting through global security incidents, dark web chatter and local crime reports to predict potential threats with uncanny accuracy.
AI-driven threat intelligence will allow security teams to be proactive rather than reactive, addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Gone are the days of simple key cards. AI will usher in a new era of access control, combining multiple factors for authentication, including biometric data (fingerprints, facial recognition), behavioural patterns (gait analysis, typing rhythm) and contextual information (time of day, location)
This multi-layered approach will make unauthorised access exponentially more difficult, significantly enhancing physical security.
While biometrics aren’t new, AI will take them to the next level. 2025 will probably see advanced systems that can detect liveness in facial recognition to prevent spoofing, analyse micro-expressions for potential deception and use AI-enhanced voice recognition for secure remote access.
The cyber domain will see further enhancements and advancements with AI at their core, AI will revolutionise how we detect and respond to network intrusions.
Machine learning algorithms will continuously analyse network traffic, identifying unusual patterns that could indicate a breach.
This shift from reactive to predictive security will allow organisations to allocate resources more effectively and prevent many security incidents before they occur.
As quantum computing looms on the horizon, threatening current encryption methods, AI will step in to create new, more robust encryption algorithms.
While AI offers tremendous benefits for security, it also presents new challenges.
As we embrace AI for protection, we must also prepare for its use by malicious actors.
One of the most significant threats is the potential for adversarial attacks—attempts to manipulate AI systems by exploiting their vulnerabilities.
For example, creating images that fool facial recognition systems, generating audio that tricks voice authentication and developing malware that evades AI-based detection.
Security professionals will need to be vigilant and continuously update their AI systems to counter these evolving threats.
AI’s natural language processing capabilities are already being used to create highly convincing phishing emails or chatbots designed to extract sensitive information.
These AI-powered social engineering tools are already personalising attacks based on publicly available information, mimicking writing styles and communication patterns of trusted individuals, as well as operating at a scale impossible for human attackers.
As deepfake technology becomes more sophisticated, it poses a significant and growing threat to security as video conferencing systems could be compromised by realistic deepfakes, voice synthesis could be used to bypass voice authentication systems or fake videos could be used for blackmail or to spread disinformation.
The speed and adaptability of these AI hackers will pose a significant challenge to traditional cyber defences.
But AI can currently write code for known vulnerabilities in networks thereby turning anyone into a potential hacker and not just the tech geeks that were needed before!
As we stand on the brink of this AI-powered security revolution, it’s clear that the landscape of 2025 will be radically different from today. To prepare for this future, security professionals should:
The future of security is a delicate balance between leveraging AI’s power for protection and guarding against its potential for harm.
As security professionals, it’s our responsibility to navigate this complex landscape, ensuring that AI serves as a force for good in our never-ending quest for better, stronger security.
Are you ready to embrace the AI-driven future of security? The time to prepare is now.
This article was originally published in the February 2025 Edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
