Akamai unveils Defenders’ Guide 2025 to better equip APJ cybersecurity teams against evolving threats – CRN

Akamai Technologies announced the release of the Defenders’ Guide 2025: Fortify the Future of Your Defense. This first-of-its-kind State of the Internet (SOTI) report delivers practical research around risk management to identify, assess, and mitigate threats; how to reinforce network architecture to create defence barriers and contain potential breaches; and guidance around implementing host security to prevent unauthorised access and malware at endpoints – providing novel insights to help organisations in the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

APJ’s cybersecurity landscape remains highly complex and fragmented, as it is a diverse region consisting of emerging economies and developed markets. The region is also increasingly under siege. Last year, APJ became the second most attacked region in the world regarding web application DDoS attacks – where attacks grew five-fold compared to the previous year.

While other regions have centralised cybersecurity oversight, APJ lacks a unified governing body to establish standardised protocols, leaving organisations to navigate threats with varying levels of preparedness. In response, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and IT Decision Makers (ITDMs) across APJ are actively seeking knowledge and resources to fortify their organisations against evolving threats.

“APJ continues to be a key growth driver for businesses, fueled by rapid digital transformation and a dynamic economic landscape. However, as organisations accelerate their digital initiatives, the region remains a prime target for increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks, particularly AI-driven attacks,” said Parimal Pandya, SVP and Managing Director of Akamai Technologies APJ. “Security must be a fundamental enabler of business growth, not a barrier. Akamai’s latest research empowers security leaders across APJ with actionable insights into critical threats, ranging from VPN vulnerabilities to advanced malware techniques, so they can build resilient, research-driven defences that support their business objectives.”

Stepping up on risk management

Despite broad agreement on its usefulness to tackle the increasingly diverse and sophisticated threat landscape, risk scoring has sparked ongoing debate in the security community due to the complexities of its execution. The rise of artificial intelligence and the accessibility of hacking tools are making cyberattacks easier for hackers – both amateurs and skilled actors – to launch cyberattacks. This means organisations are facing a more unpredictable and dangerous digital threat landscape than ever before.

The Defenders’ Guide 2025 presents

• A new risk scoring model that quantifies organisational vulnerabilities by evaluating application importance, network complexity, and likelihood of compromise. It includes recommendations such as endpoint impact analysis, segmentation strategies, and methods for mitigating both internal and external risks.
• Malware metamorphosis, which provides insights into botnet families like NoaBot and RedTail by highlighting advanced tactics such as peer-to-peer architectures and fileless malware. The report offers practical steps for mitigating these threats, including patch management and employee training

Equipping defenders with research that strengthens network architecture

As remote and hybrid work models continue to be the norm, many organisations in APJ have heavily invested in VPNs to facilitate efficient and secure remote access. Despite the global push towards Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), many APJ organisations continue to rely on legacy VPNs due to their substantial existing investments and the ongoing prevalence of hybrid work models.

However, legacy VPNs present significant security vulnerabilities. The new VPN abuse research in the Defenders’ Guide 2025 reveals vulnerabilities in VPN appliances often exploited by advanced threat actors. Guidance is also provided on how to mitigate these threats by adopting practices such as secure LDAP protocols, custom encryption, and frequent firmware updates.

Web applications rely on user input, but improper handling can lead to cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, where malicious scripts execute in a user’s browser due to inadequate input validation, or weak content security policies. Even trusted data sources can become compromised due to upstream changes or third-party integrations, making XSS a critical security risk and the second most common attack vector driving growth in web application and API attacks in APJ.

While modern frameworks and peer code reviews can help mitigate the risk, they are not fool proof. The only reliable approach to addressing this issue is a “defense in depth” strategy, layering multiple security measures to reduce the chances of successful exploitation. The XSS research in this guide demonstrates the critical need for layered defences to address vulnerabilities in user input processing.

Analysing Kubernetes vulnerabilities to beef up host security

As containers are frequently adopted today due to its flexibility, lightweight, and ease of deployment, it also presents new security challenges. This explains the necessity of host security and why implementing it requires careful planning and a deep understanding of potential risks to create a robust defence that can adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape.

Due to the increased reliance on Kubernetes in the corporate world and amongst businesses, the Defenders’ Guide offers analysis of six Kubernetes vulnerabilities from 2023–2024 outlines the risks of command injection attacks. The report emphasises proactive patching and vigilance against emerging threats in containerised environments.