Proofpoint Research Finds 65% of Organizations Affected by Ransomware Say AI Made Attacks More Effective

Proofpoint's 2026 AI‑Era Ransomware Report (survey of 953 security professionals across 12 countries) finds that AI is amplifying phishing, impersonation, and credential theft, making ransomware attacks more effective and human‑centric; 65% of affected organizations said AI increased attack effectiveness, 54% paid ransoms, and almost two‑thirds confirmed data theft, with attackers using stolen credentials and trusted communications to enable repeated extortion rather than single encryption events.