AI-Powered Ransomware Targets 17 Companies US, UK, Australia, Brazil

In 2025, ransomware attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and automated, leveraging AI technologies to enhance their operations and extortion tactics. The Global Group ransomware platform uses AI chatbots to conduct automated, scalable negotiations with victims, tailoring communication to maximize psychological pressure, marking a significant evolution in cyber extortion methods. Check Point Research highlights the professionalization and decentralization of ransomware, with AI-generated phishing content and negotiation support becoming operationalized across the ransomware ecosystem. Local governments face growing challenges in managing ransomware incidents, as exemplified by Maryland's interactive exercise simulating a coordinated phishing and ransomware attack to improve crisis communication strategies during such emergencies. Meanwhile, security researchers have identified novel AI-targeted cyberattacks like "LegalPwn," which exploits AI language models by embedding malicious code within legal text, bypassing security measures and demonstrating the expanding threat landscape. These developments underscore the urgent need for defenders to adopt advanced, AI-enabled detection and response tools to counter increasingly complex and automated cyber threats.