BeyondTrust Forecasts New Era of Identity-Based Threats

In a report published on October 29, 2025, cybersecurity firm BeyondTrust released its annual predictions, highlighting a significant shift in the digital threat landscape. The analysis asserts that future major breaches will not stem from simple phished passwords but from a growing and unmanaged “identity debt.” According to BeyondTrust’s cybersecurity experts, established defenses are poised to fail as new attack vectors surge. The report’s central thesis is that these varied threats—spanning physical, digital, new, and old vectors—are all converging on a single, critical point of failure: identity.

The Core Threat: Unmanaged Identity Debt

BeyondTrust’s report provides a detailed breakdown of what constitutes this identity debt, describing it as a vulnerability taking multiple forms that create systemic risk. The company cites the example of a “ghost” identity, a credential from a past data breach that still lurks undetected within a modern Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform. Another critical component is the privilege sprawl created by the introduction of thousands of new AI agents. These agents expand an organization’s attack surface by bloating the number of identities that require management and security. The analysis also points to the growing danger of automated account poisoning, a method that exploits weak identity verification protocols, particularly within financial systems.

Agentic AI as a Primary Attack Vector

The first of three critical threats detailed in the report is the emergence of agentic AI as the ultimate attack vector. The prediction states that by 2026, agentic AI will be connected to almost every technology used by organizations. In effect, these AI systems will function as a new form of middleware, deeply embedded in corporate infrastructure. This widespread integration, according to the analysis, makes agentic AI a prime target and tool for attackers, fundamentally shifting the security paradigm toward a focus on securing AI-driven identities and their extensive privileges.

Source: https://thehackernews.com/2025/10/preparing-for-digital-battlefield-of.html