Ransomware Is Accelerating — And It's Not Because of AI

**Black Kite 2026 Ransomware Report (Apr 1, 2025–Mar 31, 2026)** documents 7,551 publicly disclosed victims (+24.9% YoY), a March 2026 single-month peak of 861 victims, 146 active groups (61 new in the period), and attributes acceleration to ecosystem fragmentation, RaaS commoditization, and targeting of less-defended organizations rather than broad AI-driven attacks; it recommends continuous third-party risk monitoring and defenses against AI-assisted phishing, noting RSI spikes preceded 93.5% of disclosed incidents.