Cybersecurity firm Fortinet has revealed a sharp rise in AI-enabled cybercrime, reporting a 389% year-on-year increase in global ransomware victims. The findings were published in the company’s 2026 Global Threat Landscape Report by FortiGuard Labs, highlighting how artificial intelligence is transforming the speed and scale of cyberattacks worldwide.
According to the report, confirmed ransomware victims globally surged to 7,831 cases in 2025, compared to around 1,600 cases in the previous year. Manufacturing emerged as the most targeted sector with 1,284 victims, followed by business services and retail. The United States recorded the highest number of ransomware incidents, followed by Canada and Germany.
Fortinet attributed the increase largely to the growing availability of AI-powered cybercrime tools such as WormGPT, FraudGPT, and BruteForceAI. These tools allow attackers to automate reconnaissance, credential theft, phishing, and vulnerability exploitation, significantly reducing the technical expertise required to launch sophisticated cyberattacks.
One of the most alarming findings in the report was the shrinking “time-to-exploit” window. Fortinet noted that attackers are now exploiting newly disclosed vulnerabilities within 24 to 48 hours, compared to an average of 4.76 days in earlier reports. In some cases, active exploitation attempts began just hours after vulnerabilities were publicly disclosed, demonstrating how AI is compressing cyberattack timelines.
The report also highlighted a growing shift toward identity-based attacks in cloud environments. Most confirmed cloud breaches in 2025 stemmed from stolen or misused credentials rather than direct infrastructure exploitation. Fortinet warned that organizations must increasingly rely on AI-enabled cybersecurity defenses, automation, and real-time threat intelligence to counter rapidly evolving threats. The findings underscore how cybercrime is evolving into a highly coordinated, AI-driven ecosystem where attackers operate with industrial-scale efficiency.
