A report released Wednesday by cybersecurity firm Semperis and research consultant Censuswide suggests a significant rise in the use of artificial intelligence by cybercriminals. According to the 2026 Ransomware Risk Report, 84 percent of surveyed ransomware victims stated that their attackers incorporated AI tools into their operations.

The data was gathered by surveying 1,200 IT and security professionals across nine countries and eight different industry sectors. The report highlights a growing concern among security experts regarding how AI is being weaponized to make ransomware attacks more effective or harder to detect. While the report provides a snapshot of current industry sentiment, it relies on the self-reported experiences of professionals who have dealt with these security breaches.

This study underscores the evolving nature of cyber threats as bad actors increasingly adopt emerging technologies. By integrating AI, attackers may be able to automate parts of the hacking process, personalize phishing attempts, or bypass traditional security defenses more efficiently. The findings serve as a metric for how widespread the integration of AI has become in the criminal underground, though the report does not detail specific technical methods used by the attackers. As organizations continue to face ransomware threats, the industry is shifting its focus toward identifying how AI-driven attacks differ from traditional methods and how to better defend against them.