2025 has arrived! As we gear up for the new year and the next chapter in cloud security, we thought, "Why not tap into the crystal balls of our very own Wizards?" So, from our Global Head of Government Affairs to our VP of Product, we gathered insights into the trends that people believe will define cloud security in 2025 and beyond. We've broken these down into 6 key areas to help security leaders stay ahead of the curve. 

1. Federated models will dominate cloud security operations 

Federated organizational structures with centralized oversight and decentralized security ownership are gaining traction, improving speed and risk decision-making in enterprises with multiple business units or development teams. Jiong Liu, VP Product Marketing, expects this trend to accelerate. "As more CISOs rethink org structures, accountability mechanisms, and workflows in order to reduce friction between teams and enable secure by design principles." 

In addition, cloud-native security practices are extending back to private and hybrid infrastructures, driving a shift towards unified approaches that protect the entire business, regardless of the underlying architecture. "As organizations mature their cloud operating models, the need for consistent security controls implemented at scale across public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises becomes more pressing," says Jiong Liu. 

2. Horizontal security will replace vertical silos 

Development teams are accelerating adoption of CI/CD and immutable architecture practices, resulting in the traditional boundaries between cloud and application security tooling dissolving. A significant move towards a horizontal security model is anticipated, where code, pipeline, and cloud risks can be correlated back to a single issue and owner. This shift aims to break down silos, provide shared context across stages of the SDLC, and offer unified prioritization of security issues. The most mature organizations are even bringing cloud and application security teams into a single organizational structure. 

While the shift left approach is nothing new, organizations are doubling down on secure-by-design principles, integrating approved templates and policies at the earliest stages of development. The trend will continue in 2025, as more developers and security teams embed security directly into CI/CD pipelines, catching issues before they become critical. This shift will be pivotal for reducing vulnerabilities in the coming year (and beyond).   

"Security is no longer just a checkpoint at the end of the development cycle," says Yinon Costica, VP of Product & Cofounder at Wiz. "As organizations push security further left, we're seeing more seamless collaboration between development and security teams, ensuring vulnerabilities are caught early and mitigated efficiently during the development process." 

3. Leveraging (and protecting) AI will be essential for security 

“And here’s my obligatory AI slide...” is something we’ve probably all heard a presenter say at this point. AI was THE hot topic of 2024, and this year promises to bring more of the same." AI will lower the barrier to entry for cloud security," Jiong explains. "This will accelerate the shift from vertical to horizontal security by breaking down traditional silos within the security team through a shared, natural language understanding of cloud security that also upskills teams." 

But while much of the AI buzz focuses on how it unleashes incredible potential for innovation, there is growing awareness of the need to secure AI pipelines. Mitch Herckis, Global Head of Government Affairs, emphasizes, "The conversation around AI security needs to expand beyond the risks from AI to the risks to AI." Organizations must prepare for heightened scrutiny and compliance demands, focusing on securing AI models, training data, and inference processes. 

4. Supply chain security will be a top concern 

In 2025, expect organizations to demand greater transparency from vendors and leverage cloud-native tools to analyze code dependencies in real-time. Recent incidents, such as the xz-utils supply chain attack, underscore the critical nature of this issue. 

"Supply chain security will be a critical area of focus in 2025," says Yinon Costica. "We'll see more robust posture management processes applied to the entire development pipeline as well as deeper security analysis of the software bills of materials (SBOMs) and code dependencies." 

5. Identity takes center stage in cloud security 

Human and Non-Human Identity entitlements management is becoming a top priority, especially as it intersects with AI and data security. Organizations are investing heavily in identity governance frameworks and tools to prevent unauthorized access and improve accountability. 

"As AI and data become increasingly intertwined, managing who has access to what will be a key factor in securing cloud environments," Jiong adds. "We're going to see significant advancements in human and non-human identity technologies to safeguard access to sensitive resources and ensure compliance with evolving regulations." 

6. Nation-state threats will drive innovation in defense strategies 

Nation-state cyber operations are escalating, reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. Industries like energy, healthcare, and finance face increased targeting, driving stricter security mandates and innovation in defense strategies. 

"As nation-state cyber operations evolve, there will be a greater focus on defending critical infrastructure from sophisticated, well-funded adversaries," says Mitch. "In 2025, we will continue to see more state-sponsored threats, forcing organizations to rethink their defense strategies and strengthen their security postures." 

Conclusion 

Overall, we have an exciting year ahead, brimming with new security challenges and opportunities in an increasingly complex environment. 

Ready to future-proof your security strategy? Explore our Wiz Academy and stay one step ahead of emerging threats.