How Economic Developers Can Leverage 2025 Cybersecurity Threats and Trends to Win Jobs, Capital, and Create Economic Growth
Economic developers face a defining moment. As global markets undergo seismic shifts driven by AI, geopolitical tension, quantum computing disruption, and accelerating cybercrime, communities are no longer judged solely on land, labor, logistics, or incentives.
Today, cybersecurity resilience, data infrastructure, and digital readiness form the new backbone of competitive advantages in the attraction of new industries.
Cybercrime will inflict up to $10.5 trillion in annual damages by the end of 2025, rivaling the GDP of major nations. For businesses assessing expansion or relocation, cyber risk is now as pivotal as taxes, transportation, or talent. In this environment, economic developers are no longer simply recruiters—they are strategic architects responsible for shaping cyber-ready regions capable of supporting advanced industry, safeguarding supply chains, and ensuring operational continuity. If you are not digitally savvy you are doomed to fail.
This expanded analysis reframes the looming cybersecurity threats and emerging trends for 2025–2026 through a site-location and community competitiveness lens, empowering economic developers to use this intelligence to strengthen business retention, accelerate recruitment, and future-proof local economies from global digital banditos.
Everything that follows is crafted so economic developers can apply it directly to their marketing, strategies, briefings, and pitch decks to investors.
I. The New Battleground: Cybersecurity as a Core Site-Selection Factor
Businesses in 2025 face an unprecedented wave of digital threats that directly influence where they choose to operate. Cybersecurity risk is no longer an abstract IT issue—it is a strategic determinant of business continuity.
Companies expanding or relocating now ask:
• Does this community have the cyber workforce we need?
• Will our supply chain partners in this region expose us to vulnerabilities?
• Is this region resilient enough to support uninterrupted operations?
• Does the state have cyber readiness policies and support systems?
• Is there proximity to cybersecurity hubs or federal agencies?
Economic developers who can answer these questions with confidence will win investment. Those who cannot will be bypassed—regardless of how strong their tax incentives or real estate options may be.
II. Critical Threats: What Every Economic Developer Must Understand
1. AI-Driven Cybercrime: The Threat That Lowers the Barriers to Attack
In 2025, generative AI has transformed the threat landscape. Cybercriminals now deploy AI-generated phishing schemes, malware, and deepfake-enhanced business email compromise attacks at scale.
Ninety-seven percent of companies have already suffered AI-related breaches.
This matters for communities because:
- Businesses will only invest in regions with deep AI and cybersecurity talent pools.
- Site selectors are evaluating communities on cyber workforce pipelines the same way they evaluate manufacturing talent or logistics infrastructure.
- Communities lacking AI readiness will appear vulnerable to high-value companies.
- Economic developers must highlight partnerships with universities, coding academies, and AI research programs to prove capability. You cannot fake your pedigree in this arena.
2. Supply Chain Cyber Exposure: A Direct Risk to Regional Economies
Supply chain fragility is now the top cybersecurity concern globally—54 percent of major organizations cite it as their #1 risk.
For communities, supply chain cyber risks mean
- A single ransomware event in a local supplier can halt production for an entire region.
- Site selectors will avoid regions with outdated or unsecured supply chains.
- Communities with strong digital infrastructure, redundant fiber networks, and cyber-hardened logistics assets earn superior competitive positioning.
Economic developers must map their region’s digital supply chain strength with the same intensity traditionally reserved for transportation assets.
3. Geopolitical Cyber Conflict: The Unseen Pressure on Local Businesses
With nearly 60 percent of companies altering operations due to state-sponsored cyber threats, businesses increasingly seek communities with access to:
- Strategic intelligence
- Federal cybersecurity resources
- Defense-industry networks
- Government-linked cyber training programs
Regions with DHS, NSA, CISA, or defense installations possess a natural advantage. Economic developers must publicize these assets vigorously.
4. Human Vulnerabilities: The Community Workforce Challenge
Deepfake-enhanced business email compromise scams, insider risks, and “shadow AI” tools used without permission create vulnerabilities that cost U.S. companies billions
Why this matters for local development
- Businesses now assess workforce cyber maturity when evaluating markets.
- Communities must prioritize cyber literacy across all industries—not just tech.
- Workforce development boards must integrate cyber hygiene training into standard upskilling programs.
- Regions that build a “digitally responsible workforce” will win the trust of high-value industries.
5. The Cyber Workforce Shortage: A Golden Opportunity for Regions
The U.S. has 514,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs.
This shortage creates a powerful opportunity for communities because companies now prioritize regions that can guarantee:
- A strong cybersecurity talent pipeline
- Workforce readiness programs
- Rapid certification pathways
- Close university–industry collaboration
Economic developers can turn this national weakness into a regional differentiator.
6. Regulatory Fragmentation: The Rising Cost of Non-Compliance
Increasingly strict frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, CMMC 2.0, state privacy laws) create compliance burdens that businesses are eager to escape—or better yet, manage through supportive ecosystems.
Economic developers can win projects by highlighting:
- Local compliance experts
- Cybersecurity incubators
- Regional regulatory support services
- University programs specializing in data privacy law
- State-level incentives for secure-by-design infrastructure
- Communities that present themselves as compliance-ready will rise above competitors.
7. Quantum Threats: The Next Disruptor
Quantum computing could break today’s encryption by 2026.
Forward-looking communities will:
- Promote quantum-safe infrastructure initiatives
- Support local companies in crypto inventory and transition
planning - Attract finance, defense, biotech, and energy firms seeking
quantum-ready environments - Being “quantum-aware” becomes a branding advantage.
III. Trends That Will Shape Economic Development Strategy Through 2026
1. Zero-Trust Adoption Becomes a Regional Selling Point
With 81 percent of enterprises adopting zero-trust by 2026, communities embracing this model create a more secure investment environment
Economic developers should highlight:
- Modernized municipal systems
- Secure access infrastructure
- Regional IT standards
- Smart-city cybersecurity protocols
A zero-trust community becomes a zero-risk community in the eyes of site selectors.
2. AI-Augmented Defense Sparks New Industry Clusters
AI will soon power autonomous cyber defense, predictive threat analytics, and near-real-time anomaly detection.
Regions that support AI + cybersecurity integration can target clusters in:
- Cloud security
- Threat intelligence
- Autonomous systems
- SOC-as-a-Service firms
- Government contractors
- Critical infrastructure security
Economic developers must position these clusters as engines of high-wage job growth. This is the future of business growth and high value economies.
3. Supply Chain Risk Management Goes Board-Level—and Local
By 2025, nearly half of firms will face supply chain cyber events.
Economic developers must:
- Map digital risk across local suppliers
- Promote regional redundancy and resilience
- Strengthen cross-industry cyber collaborations
- Build partnerships between anchor employers and cybersecurity firms
Regions that reduce supply chain risk gain enormous competitive leverage.
4. Cloud Dominance (93 percent migration by 2027) Reshapes Infrastructure Needs
Communities with:
- Tier-III or Tier-IV data centers
- Redundant fiber
- Low-latency networks
- Broadband expansion policies…will win businesses dependent on cloud operations.
5. Burnout and Workforce Diversity Become Economic Priorities
The cybersecurity workforce is strained, with 76 percent of CISOs citing overwhelming workloads.
Communities must:
- Build pipelines of diverse talent (women are now 25 percent of the
field) - Expand retraining programs
- Encourage cross-sector cyber upskilling
- Create regional cybersecurity apprenticeship models Workforce comfort equals site selector confidence.
IV. Strategic Foundations: What Businesses Look for in U.S. Locations
Some U.S. hubs have emerged as cybersecurity powerhouses—and economic developers everywhere can learn from them.
1. Washington, D.C., & Northern Virginia
• 72,000+ cyber roles
• Proximity to DHS, NSA, CISA
• AWS and Microsoft secure cloud clusters
• Ultra-dense compliance expertise
• A benchmark region for regulated and federal-contract industries.
2. Virginia
• 50,000+ job openings
• Data center capital of the world
• High broadband resilience
• Strong CISA regional presence
• Ideal for data-intense firms, logistics, and defense.
3. Atlanta
• Cybersecurity fusion center
• Georgia Tech
• Finance/logistics ecosystem
• A rising star for cyber-diversified growth.
4. Austin
• CISA regional hub
• Startups + blockchain + AI
• Talent retention fueled by tech culture
Perfect for next-gen digital ventures.
5. Seattle
• Home to Amazon and Microsoft
• Cloud security at scale
• High salaries attract elite talent
• A magnet for advanced analytics and cloud-native firms.
6. Chicago
• Strength in financial cybersecurity and cryptography
• Major compliance and regulatory infrastructure
7. Denver
• OT (operational technology) cyber strength
• Energy-sector resilience
• Ideal for critical infrastructure sectors.
Economic developers can model successful strategies from these hubs—even at smaller scales.
V. Conclusion: Cybersecurity Is Now the Defining Economic Currency of Communities
For communities seeking to grow their business base, attract high-value site-location projects, strengthen their industries, and future-proof their economies, cybersecurity readiness is no longer optional—it is existential.
Communities that demonstrate:
- Cyber-ready workforce
- Resilient infrastructure
- Strong supply chain security
- AI and quantum awareness
- Public-private cyber alliances
- Supportive regulatory environments
Advanced broadband and cloud assets… will outcompete peers for the next decade.
Cyber readiness has become a primary site-location factor, an investment trust signal, and a growth accelerator.
Economic developers who embrace this shift—who integrate cybersecurity intelligence into their recruitment strategies—will shape the most prosperous, resilient, and innovative communities of the future.
About the Author: Don A. Holbrook is a 25-year veteran economic development site location and incentive consultant. He and his team have worked on projects across North America and around the globe. His focus is primarily on place-based economic development tourism strategies and designing the team and products that communities’ can use to attract such investments. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and has written five, best-selling books speaking frequently around the world at professional functions. He has been featured on CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, PBS television and radio networks, and in LA Times, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, FDI (the Economist Group) and many local television, print and radio interviews. He has been one of the North American Judges for FDI Magazine for the past six years on The Best Community Economies for Growth & Investment. He is a former board of director of the International Economic Development Council, and Fellow Member of IEDC, as well as Certified Economic Developer.
