According to the 2025 State of Ransomware Survey from CrowdStrike, 76% of global organisations struggle to match the speed and sophistication of AI-powered attacks.
With 89% viewing AI-powered protection as essential to closing the gap, the findings underline that the future of stopping breaches will be decided by who holds the AI advantage – adversaries or defenders.
“From malware development to social engineering, adversaries are weaponising AI to accelerate every stage of attacks, collapsing the defender’s window of response,” said Elia Zaitsev, CTO at CrowdStrike.
“The 2025 State of Ransomware Survey reinforces that legacy defences can’t match the speed or sophistication of AI-driven attacks. Time is the currency of modern cyberdefence and in today’s AI-driven threat landscape, every second counts.”
Key findings from the 2025 State of Ransomware Report include:
• Legacy defences fall behind: 48% of organisations cite AI-automated attack chains as today’s greatest ransomware threat, while 85% report traditional detection is becoming obsolete against AI-enhanced attacks.
• Speed defines the security outcome: Nearly half of organisations fear they can’t detect or respond as fast as AI-driven attacks can execute, with fewer than a quarter recovering within 24 hours and almost 25% suffering significant disruption or data loss.
• Social engineering evolves with AI: Phishing remains a leading attack vector, with 87% saying AI makes lures more convincing and deepfakes emerging as a major driver of future ransomware attacks.
• Paying ransom fuels repeat attacks: 83% of organisations that paid a ransom were attacked again and 93% had data stolen regardless.
• The leadership disconnect: 76% report a gap between leadership’s perceived ransomware readiness and actual preparedness, underscoring the need for board-level buy-in to modernise defences.
