The AI-Powered Ransomware Era Is Almost Here

Experts have cautioned that hackers are rapidly utilizing the emerging technology to enhance and optimize their coding processes, making generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) the key to the future of ransomware attacks. FunkSec is a relatively new ransomware group that was first discovered in late 2024, according to the most recent State of Ransomware report from Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).

According to Kaspersky, FunkSec has already acquired a reputation despite its inexperience, “quickly surpassing many established actors by targeting government, technology, finance, and education sectors across Europe and Asia.”

The researchers discovered that the group is actively employing GenAI after examining the coding in its products. Technical incompatibilities (commands for multiple operating systems that don’t align) and general placeholder remarks (such as “placeholder for actual check”) are telltale signals, they noted.

AI lowers barriers

Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to create dangerous tools. By lowering barriers and speeding up the generation of malware, generative AI helps hackers modify their strategies more quickly. Even less skilled attackers can now swiftly create complex malware at scale thanks to AI’s ability to lower the entrance barrier, according to Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky’s GReAT.

Likely, defenses against AI-powered attacks will also need to be AI-powered. In order to identify dangers that conventional signature-based techniques might overlook, several of the top antivirus and endpoint security services today employ AI and machine learning.

Among other things, Kaspersky advised users to keep everything updated, enable ransomware protection for all endpoints, and concentrate defense tactics on identifying lateral movements and data exfiltration.