The 2025 threat landscape will be more dynamic, complex, and dangerous than ever before, and it boils down to the recent emergence of the newest arrival to the scene that is fundamentally changing threat maps and organization risk considerations in the U.S. and beyond. At the Center for Internet Security (CIS), we call them multidimensional threats, or physical, cyber, and information operations threats operating seamlessly between the physical and digital worlds at internet speeds.
Beginning in early 2024, state and local law enforcement and election officials began to prepare to deal with a broad range of physical and cyber threats, anticipating that foreign and domestic threat actors would seek to disrupt the upcoming Presidential elections. As it turned out, they were right to be concerned. Throughout the election cycle, state and local communities across the nation experienced sustained levels of cyber and physical threat activity. In the physical domain, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Secret Service disrupted several plots, and there were two assassination attempts directed at then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Internet-enabled bomb threats and swatting calls attempted to disrupt government operations throughout the election cycle — on election day alone over 100 polling sites were targeted for bomb threats, many of them part of a coordinated effort originating abroad. On the cyber front, there were sustained levels of cyberattacks, including ransomware and denial-of-service attacks directed at state and local government information systems. In the world of information operations, foreign threat actors developed and spread artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video and audio content in an attempt to undermine confidence in the election.
The threats facing our communities are not confined to elections. Since November 5, we have continued to witness government systems targeted by cyber threat actors. Bomb threats, some originating from overseas, have targeted vote tabulation centers and even the homes of appointees of the incoming administration.
And the violence has continued. A corporate CEO was gunned down in the streets of New York City by an individual motivated by anti-corporate ideological views. Our nation witnessed a school shooting by a 15-year-old female motivated by a blend of ideological views and personal grievances. An ISIS-inspired military veteran born and raised in the United States conducted a vehicle ramming attack in New Orleans that killed and injured dozens of celebrants on New Year’s Day. The sad reality is that, as we enter 2025, local communities are likely to continue to experience these multidimensional threats that emerged so prominently in 2024.
There is good news. While the threat environment was and continues to be dynamic, complex, and quite frankly dangerous, police chiefs, sheriffs, and state and major urban-area fusion centers have stepped up to the challenge. Despite the danger, law enforcement and election officials ensured that the conduct of the 2024 election withstood the potential of violence and other threat-related activity. This kind of collaboration is continuing across the nation as federal, state, and local governments are working together to prepare and respond to the multidimensional threats they face. They are sharing critical intelligence about threats. They are engaging in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency operational planning, training, and exercises so that they are better prepared to detect, prevent, and respond to incidents with little to no notice. They are establishing redundant crisis communications capabilities ensuring that communications between first responders and the public can be achieved and maintained even when the websites, social media platforms, communications centers, and telecommunications systems facilitating that communication are targeted for cyberattacks. This is the recipe for success the nation will need to keep our communities safe in the days, weeks, and months ahead.