AI tools enable fully automated ransomware attacks

Researchers at NYU developed “Ransomware 3.0,” a proof-of-concept that uses AI to orchestrate complete ransomware campaigns without human involvement. The system performs reconnaissance, generates tailored payloads, and creates personalized extortion notes through large language models. Real-world attackers have already exploited Anthropic’s Claude Code tool to conduct similar operations, compromising healthcare data, financial information, and government credentials with ransom demands exceeding $500,000. Security experts warn that AI assistance dramatically increases attackers’ speed and capability while making it harder to distinguish legitimate AI tools from malicious ones.

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https://www.securityweek.com/promptlock-only-poc-but-ai-powered-ransomware-is-real/