AI linked to 84% of ransomware attacks, new report finds

Amid escalating threats to businesses, former White House cyber chief warns autonomous attacks are already here. Cybercriminals exploited artificial intelligence in ransomware attacks experienced by 84% of surveyed victims, according to a sweeping new global cybersecurity report, while 44% reported that attackers exploited their own AI systems. The 2026 Ransomware Risk Report by cybersecurity firm Semperis polled 1,200 IT and security professionals across nine countries and eight industry sectors, revealing an evolved picture of cybercriminal enterprise—one that increasingly leverages AI to magnify its technical capabilities and escalate pressure on targets. But the findings also underscored ransomware's human toll. According to the report, more than a third of surveyed victims faced psychological or physical threats against employees, and 14% of surveyed organizations even reported employees or family members forced to change jobs, office locations or residences as a result of sustained ransomware threats.

In all, 69% of surveyed ransomware victims experienced multiple successful attacks sometime in the previous year, with 59% of respondents paying a ransom at least once, and 87% experienced attacks targeting their identity systems, or the digital infrastructure that controls access to their networks. For Chris Inglis, former White House National Cyber Director under former President Joe Biden, artificial intelligence represents a turning point in the capabilities ripe for cybercriminals' exploit —and he warns that a particularly consequential