This Month in Security with Tony Anscombe – December 2025 Edition

Why It Matters

The ransomware payout data underscores persistent financial risk for enterprises, while the Texas privacy suit signals tighter regulatory pressure on consumer‑data practices across hardware sectors.

Key Takeaways

• US firms paid over $2.1 billion in ransomware ransom
• FinCEN data suggests actual ransomware losses are higher
• Texas AG sues five TV makers for covert tracking
• Case highlights growing legal scrutiny of consumer privacy
• 2025 cyber‑incident review reveals evolving threat tactics

Pulse Analysis

Ransomware continues to drain corporate balance sheets, with FinCEN reporting U.S. entities disbursed more than $2.1 billion between 2022 and 2024. Analysts argue that the reported sum represents merely the visible tip of a far larger underground economy, as many incidents go unreported to avoid reputational damage. This persistent threat forces security leaders to prioritize proactive defenses, such as immutable backups and zero‑trust architectures, while budgeting for incident response capabilities that can mitigate both direct payments and ancillary costs.

In a parallel development, the Texas Attorney General’s lawsuit against five leading television manufacturers marks a watershed moment for privacy enforcement in the consumer electronics arena. Allegations of covert data collection—tracking what viewers watch without consent—highlight how traditional media devices are being repurposed as surveillance tools. The case is likely to spur industry‑wide audits of data‑handling practices, prompting manufacturers to adopt stricter consent frameworks and transparent telemetry policies to avoid costly litigation and regulatory fines.

Beyond these headline stories, 2025’s cyber‑incident landscape revealed a maturation of threat actor techniques. Adversaries blended supply‑chain compromises with multi‑stage ransomware deployments, leveraged AI‑generated phishing lures, and exploited emerging IoT vulnerabilities. Organizations that invested in continuous threat‑intelligence feeds and cross‑functional incident‑response drills were better positioned to detect and contain breaches. As the threat horizon expands, executives must embed cyber resilience into corporate strategy, balancing technology upgrades with workforce training and robust governance to stay ahead of sophisticated attackers.