Building a threat-ready cyber workforce: Hack The Box 2025 Buyers Guide

Cyber threats are evolving faster than ever, but one truth remains constant: humans are at the core of both cybersecurity problems and solutions.

As we head into 2025, organizations worldwide are rethinking how they develop and maintain high-performing cybersecurity teams. Procurement and executive leaders are looking for effective, efficient ways to optimize their cyber resilience (and related resources, including spending) – considering talent shortages, regulatory pressures, and an unforgiving threat landscape.

The Hack The Box Cybersecurity Professional Development Buyers’ Guide 2025 provides a data-driven look into these challenges and how modern training platforms should be addressing them.

Below, we summarize the guide’s key insights and the value proposition of Hack The Box (HTB) for organizations aiming to validate readiness, build a cyber-ready workforce, and finally achieve resilience.

Key trends and challenges in 2025 cybersecurity training

The recent research aggregated from over 850+ organizations using Hack The Box reveals several critical trends shaping cybersecurity workforce development.

• Skills gaps directly contribute to breaches: Humans continue to be the target for adversaries and their attacks. Over 50% of significant cyber incidents are caused by a lack of skills or human error. Whether it’s misconfigurations or missed alerts, the cost of under-trained staff is very real. On the positive note, organizations are increasingly aware that investing in continuous staff development is a direct investment in risk reduction and most teams are training on vectors and attacks highly focused on human fails.

• No “one-size-fits-all” in security training: Cybersecurity roles are diverse (from cloud security, to incident response, to adversary emulation) and each has unique skill requirements. A generic workforce development program for all staff simply doesn’t work. Effective programs align with business objectives and frameworks, making curriculum management tailored to the company’s industry and the team’s specific roles.

• Proactive security as main investment driver: Instead of reacting to attacks, leading organizations aim to anticipate and prevent them. Being proactive is now a top driver for investing in cyber training (in more than 50% of cases). The focus is on breaking down silos and fostering a “purple team” mentality where offense and defense work hand-in-hand. This collaborative approach in exercises and simulations helps teams practice how to identify, quantify and respond to potential incidents before they escalate, ultimately reducing organizational risk or losses.

Leadership buy-in has also become a crucial aspect, as cyber readiness is no longer just an item on the IT budget – it’s a board-level priority.

Our suggestion to secure leadership support is to evaluate vendors that provide value beyond just technical skill gains but can also contribute to improvements in operational efficiency, compliance posture, and cross-team collaboration.

When a training platform can show impact in broader these areas, it’s easier for CISOs and managers to get executive buy-in and sustained funding.

How HTB can address these challenges

Hack The Box (HTB) has emerged as a leading platform for cybersecurity skills and team development.

Our way to address the industry challenges mentioned above is to provide an unmatched content library (in terms of both content depth and release frequency) and access to a comprehensive product designed for workforce readiness following the defined 2025 product roadmap.

“A full bowl of certification acronym soup does not prepare practitioners and teams for the latest attacker techniques, rapidly exploited vulnerabilities, and hidden threats lurking in supply chains. Your provider must keep pace with the evolving threat and technology landscape with R&D and content experts ready and able to release new, relevant training courses and labs on a weekly or biweekly basis.” – The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q4 2023

Our R&D never sleeps. 

New courses and labs featuring the latest technologies and exploits will be released on a weekly basis, with regular business-exclusive releases that provide additional value to cyber teams.

The full list of content planned for the year is extensive, but it can be summarized in three (3) main knowledge domains: AI red pentesting and red teaming, purple team exercises, and advanced defensive roles.

It is fundamental for buyers not only to know the current capabilities of the vendor, but also verify that the future direction of the product is aligned to mission critical company goals and requirements.

We have translated this massive amount of information into 238 improvements, divided into 4 core pillars driving the product direction. The guide will provide further insights in specific goals and objectives for every pillar, with a sneak peek on what to expect gradually over the next months.

A smarter investment in cyber workforce

The 2025 landscape demands that organizations treat cybersecurity readiness and skills development as a strategic, long-term investment – one that pays off in reduced incidents, faster response times, and retained talent.

Hack The Box addresses modern buyer challenges by delivering a platform that is practical, customizable, data-driven, and engaging. It’s not just about training individuals, but about elevating the performance of entire security teams to meet both today’s and tomorrow’s threats.

In order to equip all stakeholders involved in the procurement process (from end-users to executive stakeholders), we have prepared supporting materials and practical tools to support your vendor evaluation. 

Accompanying this guide you will find a business case template and an evaluation checklist that you can use to decide what your next investment will look like, pitch it to your manager, and see if it truly aligns with organizational goals.