Business Outlook March 2025

Omegapoint's round-up summarizes a selection of the security and cybersecurity events that have taken place over the past month.

Security events in the world

1. Security situation in Sweden remains serious ¹

On March 11, 2025, the Swedish Security Service reported that Sweden's security situation remains serious, with a clear risk of further deterioration. Foreign powers are intensifying their security threatening activities through a combination of traditional and hybrid methods, with the aim of destabilizing both Sweden and Europe. These activities include, among other things, illegal intelligence activities, influence operations, cyber attacks and theft of technology and knowledge. In addition, there are reports of increased targeting of critical actors and threats against dissidents.

2. Serious White House security leak revealed²

In March 2025, a serious security incident occurred in the United States government, where top-secret military plans were accidentally shared with a journalist. The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to an encrypted Signal chat in which senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, discussed an impending attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Goldberg initially thought the chat was a hoax, until the March 15 attack, which killed more than 50 people. The incident has raised questions about government security practices, with experts warning that the use of commercial messaging apps for sensitive communications could constitute a breach of law.

3. Trump signs order to dismantle US Department of Education³

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling the federal Department of Education, an institution long contested by conservatives. Around half of the 4,000 employees have already been let go.

Trump argues that the responsibility for education should lie with the states and has pointed to the Nordic countries' school systems as a model. While he cannot dismantle the department without congressional approval, he can limit its function through administrative action. Established in 1979, the department has handled student loans and support programs for low-income families, but its future is now uncertain.

Cybersecurity events

1. Sportadmin breached - two million Swedes' data leaked⁴⁵

In January, Sportadmin suffered a data breach by a criminal hacker group, resulting in the leakage of information about two million Swedes onto the darknet. Among those affected were people with protected personal data, high-ranking politicians and even members of the royal family. On March 18, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) announced that it has not cleared Sportadmin of wrongdoing in the ongoing investigation into the personal data leak. According to IMY, media reports that Sportadmin has been cleared are incorrect. The case is still open, and IMY has received about 20 complaints. The fact that no immediate action is taken does not mean that everything is deemed correct, and supervision can be initiated later.

2. New national cybersecurity strategy 2025-2029⁶

On March 20, the government presented a new national strategy for cyber security. The strategy sets out the direction for Sweden's work on cyber security in the coming years and aims to strengthen the country's resilience to cyber threats.

3. Increased global spending on cybersecurity⁷

An analysis by IDC, published in March, predicts that global spending on cybersecurity will increase by 12.2% in 2025. This increase is attributed to increasingly complex and frequent cyber threats, amplified by advances in artificial intelligence.

4. Cyberattack against platform X ⁸⁹

On March 10, Elon Musk's platform X was hit by a major cyberattack that led to disruptions. Several groups, including Anonymous and Dark Storm, claimed responsibility for the attack, highlighting the complexity of threats to digital platforms.

5. Data breach in Oracle¹⁰¹¹

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the cyberattack against Oracle, which has led to the theft of patient data, Bloomberg News has reported. In March 2025, Oracle informed some of its healthcare customers of a data breach in which hackers had gained unauthorized access to legacy servers and copied patient data. The FBI has launched an investigation into the incident, and it is reported that the attackers have tried to blackmail several medical providers in the US based on the stolen data. 

1. https://www.sakerhetspolisen.se/ovriga-sidor/nyheter/nyheter/2025-03-11-orolig-omvarld-skapar-hot-i-sverige.html ︎
2. https://www.svd.se/a/qPMy1m/pete-hegseth-i-topphemliga-chatten-vi-borde-kora
   https://www.tv4.se/artikel/4eyD6ZBMwJuhv3xMCj7wpB/ministrarna-doems-ut-som-amatoerer-av-experter-kommer-haenda-igen
   ︎
3. https://www.ui.se/landguiden/lander-och-omraden/nordamerika/usa/kalendarium/2025/mars/
   https://omni.se/trump-stanger-ner-utbildningsdepartementet/a/dRBX8X
   ︎
4. https://www.imy.se/nyheter/sportadmin-fortfarande-oppet-arende-hos-imy/ ︎
5. https://www.dn.se/sverige/expert-sportadmin-bor-granskas-efter-lackan/ ︎
6. https://www.regeringen.se/regeringens-politik/cybersakerhet ︎
7. https://computersweden.se/article/3853671/utgifterna-for-cybersakerhet-okar-rejalt.html ︎
8. https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/flera-grupper-tar-pa-sig-jatteattack-mot-x ︎
9. https://www.aktuellsakerhet.se/cyberattacken-mot-x-ett-led-i-att-destabilisera-digital-infrastruktur/ ︎
10. https://www.reuters.com/technology/fbi-investigating-cyberattack-oracle-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-03-28/ ︎
11. https://www.hipaajournal.com/oracle-health-data-breach/ ︎