The U.S. has seen a 136% increase in cyberthreats, compared to the levels recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Trellix Advanced Research Center has published its CyberThreat Report: April 2025, detailing advanced persistent threat (APT) detections targeting the United States during the first quarter of 2025. The report reveals a 136% increase, equivalent to a 2.4-fold rise, compared to the levels recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. Among the APTs detected, the telecommunications sector was the most affected, accounting for 47% of attacks, followed by the transportation and shipping sectors with 36%.
The report offers a detailed view of how these threats emerge, evolve, and most importantly can be stopped, based on real-world data aimed at strengthening global threat defense and enabling faster, more effective responses to cyberattacks.

Rise in cyberattack threats to the transportation sector
In the first quarter of 2025, the transportation and shipping sector was the second most targeted, showing an 11% increase in detections compared to the previous quarter, after having been the most affected sector in Q4 2024. According to Trellix, 47% of APT activity targeting the U.S. was attributed to China-linked actors, while 35% came from Russia-aligned groups. The latter concentrated 55% of their attacks on transportation and shipping, and 40% on telecommunications.
The report also highlights a sharp rise in threats: detections against the telecommunications sector rose by 92%, while attacks targeting the tech sector increased by over 119% from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025.
In addition, Trellix notes that cybercriminals are ramping up attacks on the logistics sector by exploiting unsecured communication channels to intercept sensitive information. Cybercrime incidents increased by 54% year-over-year, with over 16 million events recorded.
Among the most prominent tactics were a doubling in the use of bulk-registered domains in attacks, and a 114% rise in subdomain abuse. These figures highlight a critical vulnerability: every unencrypted message between logistics chain participants represents a potential entry point for attackers.

Artificial Intelligence in cyberattacks
The report outlines new trends in cyberattacks, which are rapidly evolving alongside technological advancements. According to Trellix, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown in executing increasingly sophisticated and high-risk fraud schemes. The most common methods identified include:
- Credential validation: Trellix uncovered the use of machine learning models to process, deduplicate, and validate large volumes of stolen credentials, which are then resold for profit.
- Bots: AI-powered bots trained on criminal datasets that enable fraud operations and social engineering attacks.
- Document creation: Criminals are using AI programs to generate fraudulent letters, paraphrase content, and rewrite malware to extract personal data from victims.
- Voice cloning: AI-driven voice synthesis tools that enable human-like interactions in multiple languages.

This information is shared to keep the road freight transport industry informed about current cyberattack risks and their rapid evolution. The Trellix report underscores the urgent need for stricter legislation to address this issue and emphasizes the importance of companies adopting strong verification systems to ensure the security of their operations.
To explore cybersecurity strategies tailored to freight transport companies, we recommend reading the following article, which outlines key steps to protect your fleet and maintain operational security.

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