2025’s Top Biotech Cybersecurity Threats & Risk Reduction Strategies

Why Biotech Organizations Are Prime Targets

Biotech organizations are a top target due to the invaluable intellectual property (IP), sensitive patient data, and proprietary research they hold. These assets are lucrative targets for cybercriminals, nation-state actors, and competitors. Regularly updating your biotech cybersecurity plan is essential for staying ahead of emerging threats and ensuring compliance with the stringent regulatory frameworks that impact many biotech organizations.

Top Biotech Cybersecurity Threats in 2025

The unique combination of high-value assets and complex operational environments makes the need for robust, cutting-edge biotech cybersecurity solutions imperative. Here are our predictions for the top biotech cybersecurity threats in 2025 and a few high-level recommendations for reducing your risk. Each of these topics is worthy of its own blog for detailed planning, but this will get you started.

1. Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

   Zero-day attacks will remain one of the most potent and difficult-to-counter threats in 2025. These attacks exploit unknown vulnerabilities, leaving organizations defenseless until a patch is available. Biotech firms are generally reliant on complex software ecosystems that often include legacy systems for research and development. Add the general business and IT software and services, and you can see why biotech organization often have a large attack surface and elevated risk for these attacks that can cripple operations and expose sensitive IP. Top brands like Microsoft, Google, Fortinet, and many others had products with zero-day exploits in 2024, so every organization is likely to be impacted by zero-day vulnerabilities in 2025.

   Proactive Prevention: Regular penetration testing can uncover vulnerabilities before attackers do. Tools like CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform use advanced AI-powered analysis and threat intelligence to detect and respond to zero-day exploits in real-time, minimizing potential damage. For biotech organizations, this means safeguarding research pipelines and ensuring uninterrupted operations. At a minimum, you need a zero-day attack response plan, as well as a patch management tool or policy.

2.  Cloud Security Risks

   Biotech firms increasingly rely on cloud environments for data storage, collaboration, and computational power. Garner predicts that 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms. Attackers are aware of this trend and have increased their focus on cloud and web app attacks accordingly. While cloud attacks account for the bulk of security incidents, according to SentinelOne, about 23% of cloud security incidents are a result of simple cloud misconfigurations. Misconfigured cloud settings and inadequate security measures can lead to an expensive breach that damages your organization’s reputation. So, both should be a priority in your 2025 plan!

   Proactive Prevention: Conduct regular cloud security assessments/penetration tests and employ tools like Arctic Wolf’s Cloud Security Posture Management to identify and remediate vulnerabilities. This helps biotech companies maintain secure and compliant cloud infrastructures. You should also conduct regular asset inventories, have backups that are regularly tested and air-gapped, and implement a good identity and access management solution as part of your biotech cybersecurity plan.

3. Supply Chain Attacks

   Supply chain attacks, where attackers infiltrate a company through a third-party vendor, are a major concern. Biotech organizations often rely on external partners for critical services, making them susceptible to these attacks. From Snowflake to MOVEit and Starbucks, there were a staggering number of second-, third-, and even fourth-party breaches in 2024.

   Proactive Prevention: Vet third-party vendors thoroughly and require them to adhere to strict cybersecurity standards. Tools like CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform and Arctic Wolf’s Vendor Risk Management can monitor for vulnerabilities within the supply chain, ensuring comprehensive protection. You’ll also want to add minimum cybersecurity standards and breach reporting requirements to your supplier contracts and implement a strong least privilege policy.

4. Securing AI Systems

   AI is increasingly integral to biotech for tasks like drug discovery and genomic analysis. However, poorly secured AI systems can be exploited, leading to tampered datasets or manipulated algorithms. Any information you feed into AI can also be stolen or accidentally exposed—putting your valuable intellectual property at risk.

   Proactive Prevention: Protect AI models and datasets with robust security measures that include encryption and access controls. Regular audits using platforms like Arctic Wolf can identify vulnerabilities in AI implementations, ensuring data integrity and secure operations. You can find more AI security recommendations in our GenAI comparison blog.

5. Deepfake Technology

   Deepfake technology has advanced rapidly, enabling cybercriminals to craft convincing videos, audio recordings, or images to manipulate employees and executives. For instance, one multinational organization lost $25 million when an unsuspecting finance employee fell victim to a deepfake video conference call and ended up transferring money to the attackers. It can also be used to manipulate stock prices and create embarrassing public relations issues. The implications for biotech organizations are concerning, particularly in an industry where trust and precision are paramount.

   Proactive Prevention: Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for critical communications and transactions, and ask your team to use a second, known means of communication to verify requests for sensitive IP or financial requests. You should also monitor and flag anomalous behaviors indicative of deepfake-related scams and provide cybersecurity awareness training for all team members so they can spot potential attacks.

6. Smishing (SMS Phishing)

   Smishing attacks are on the rise, leveraging text messages to trick employees into revealing sensitive information or installing malware. Biotech firms often use mobile devices for fieldwork, making them vulnerable to smishing campaigns that can bypass traditional email security measures. One report found that vishing, smishing, and phishing attacks have skyrocketed 1,265% post-ChatGPT.

    

   Proactive Prevention: The most effective way to prevent phishing, vishing, smishing, and multiple different cyberattacks is to train your employees to recognize phishing attempts and use mobile antivirus/threat detection solutions. We are KnowBe4 partners and can help you customize a training program for your entire team. Also, consider mobile device management programs to increase your security.

    

7. Ransomware Attacks

   Ransomware continues to be a dominant threat, with attackers encrypting critical data and demanding payment for its release. For biotech organizations, this can mean the loss of years of research or exposure of regulatory-sensitive data. According to a Dark Reading survey, 16% of respondents were victims of a ransomware attack in 2024—ann increase from 11% in 2023.

Proactive Prevention: Regularly back up all important data, ensure your backups are air-gapped from your production systems, and regularly test your backups. Advanced endpoint protection from CrowdStrike can also detect ransomware activity early and isolate affected systems, ensuring business continuity. There are many great strategies for ransomware prevention, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Preparing for the Future

As you navigate 2025, staying ahead of biotech cybersecurity threats requires vigilance, advanced technologies, and a proactive prevention strategy. Zero-day attacks, deepfake scams, smishing, supply chain breaches, and AI vulnerabilities will continue to evolve, and you need to stay ahead of the curve to reduce your risk. Investing in robust biotech cybersecurity solutions today is not just a necessity, it’s the foundation for a resilient future.

At Pennant, our team specializes in biotech IT consulting and implementation services. Our hands-on, fractional vCIO and vCISO consultants know what works and what doesn’t in this highly nuanced field to ensure you get secure, compliant solutions. Please contact us if you need strategic or tactical help with any of the threats or solutions in this blog.

This post originally appeared on %P. Quantum Sol LLC. is affiliated with Pennant Networks, LLC.