84 percent of ransomware victims point to AI link: Report

More than 80 percent of ransomware victims in a new survey reported their attackers had weaponized artificial intelligence as part of the scheme, according to data made public Wednesday.

For its 2026 Ransomware Risk Report , cybersecurity company Semperis and research consultant Censuswide surveyed 1,200 IT and security professionals across nine countries and eight industry sectors. Eighty-four percent of those polled said they believed cybercriminals had used AI “in some way” during ransomware plots.

“AI is increasing not only the speed, scope, and scale of cyberattacks, but also their sophistication,” Chris Inglis, former U.S. national cyber director and a Semperis strategic adviser, said in the report. “Many attacks are not perceived as being aided and abetted by AI because they’re just too slick, too sophisticated.”

The report comes as several lawmakers, as well as the public , raise concerns about the use of AI — while many Big Tech leaders also call for its development to slow.

According to the survey, 44 percent of respondents experienced attacks that exploited their own AI agents and systems, while 40 percent experienced AI-based attacks.

On the other hand, about 49 percent of the surveyed victims used AI tools to detect and defend the attack, though 23 percent said their defensive AI tools failed to stop the malware.

The report also outlined the personal cost of ransomware attacks, 40 percent of which reportedly involved physical and psychological threats.

About a quarter of the targeted companies reported their employees, as well as their family members, were doxxed or had their identities revealed without their consent. Another 23 percent were swatted — a form of harassment where a false emergency is reported at a specific location with the goal of generating a significant response from law enforcement — as a result of the attack, and 25 percent required medical or psychological treatment.

As a result, nearly 14 percent were forced to change jobs or office locations or move.

“An attacker has one goal in mind: They want to extract something from you. And the only way they’re going to do that is to make the cost of resisting their demands greater than the cost of giving in,” Inglis said in a press release Wednesday.

“Holding you at physical risk is the latest phenomenon because we’ve covered most of the other risks,” he added.