As ransomware attacks accelerate in speed and sophistication, 38% of security leaders rank AI-enabled ransomware as their top concern — the most frequently cited worry about AI-related security issues according to CSO’s new 2025 Security Priorities study.
That concern appears to already be well founded, as a second study released today, CrowdStrike’s 2025 State of Ransomware Survey, provides a snapshot of how the ransomware threat is evolving, revealing cybersecurity pros’ fears surrounding the use of AI in ransomware attack chains, as well as the need to for CISOs to build better — and more intelligent — defenses to match AI-powered attackers.
“From malware development to social engineering, adversaries are weaponizing AI to accelerate every stage of attacks, collapsing the defender’s window of response,” Elia Zaitsev, CTO at CrowdStrike, said in announcing the survey’s findings. “The 2025 State of Ransomware Survey reinforces that legacy defenses can’t match the speed or sophistication of AI-driven attacks. Time is the currency of modern cyber defense — and in today’s AI-driven threat landscape, every second counts.”
