Hey everyone, if you’re in the cybersecurity game or just paranoid about your data (who isn’t these days?), Acronis just released their Cyberthreats Report for the first half of 2025, and it’s a wake-up call. Ransomware is still the big bad wolf, but now it’s got AI as its sidekick, making phishing and social engineering attacks way sneakier and more effective. Based on data from over a million endpoints, the report shows how cyber crooks are leveling up with minimal effort; think deepfakes and automated scams that hit MSPs and big businesses hard.
Diving into the juicy bits: Ransomware victims shot up nearly 70% compared to last year, with gangs like Cl0p, Akira, and Qlin leading the pack. Social engineering and BEC attacks jumped from 20% to over 25% of incidents, thanks to AI crafting super-convincing impersonations. MSPs are getting hammered; phishing now makes up 52% of attacks on them, up from 30% in 2024. And forget old-school RDP hacks; they’re basically extinct. Instead, attackers are targeting collab apps with AI-generated deepfakes in about 25% of cases. Manufacturers took the biggest hit at 15% of ransomware cases, followed by retail/food (12%) and telcos/media (10%). Oh, and malware showed up in 1.47% of Microsoft 365 email backups, yikes!
The scariest part? AI is democratizing this chaos. Low-skill hackers can now whip up pro-level phishing without breaking a sweat, putting everyone from SMBs to enterprises at risk. Acronis stresses the need for a full-on cyber protection setup: detect, respond, recover, or bust.
But hey, Acronis isn’t the only one sounding the alarm. Other security heavyweights are seeing the same AI-fueled nightmare. For instance, Check Point warns that AI is supercharging ransomware by helping attackers process stolen data super fast and spot high-value targets. In their 2025 predictions, they note: “AI’s growing role in cyber crime is undeniable. By 2025, AI will not only enhance the scale of attacks but also their sophistication.”
CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report echoes this, pointing out a massive surge in vishing and malware-free attacks, with AI making deception scarily realistic. They say, “Cybercrime is becoming a highly efficient business, using automation, AI, and advanced social engineering to scale attacks and maximize impact.” And on the nation-state side: “Adversaries… are using genAI to supercharge insider threats and social engineering.”
Over at Trend Micro, their H1 2025 AI Security Report highlights how GenAI is boosting phishing with deepfakes—36% of consumers hit by scam attempts involving them, and enabling ransomware crews to create fake digital IDs for fraud. It’s all about scaling small-sum extortions without drawing heat. As one expert in their ecosystem puts it: “There’s a real risk… around sharing personal information,” underscoring how AI amps up data exposure in these attacks.
Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 report also chimes in, noting attackers are using AI for more convincing phishing and faster malware dev, speeding through the attack chain. Even Deloitte reports a whopping 1,265% spike in phishing, partly thanks to AI tools churning out customized emails en masse.
Bottom line: AI is a double-edged sword, great for defenders, but a goldmine for attackers. If you’re an MSP or in manufacturing, beef up those defenses now. Grab the full Acronis report here or check their blog for more details here. Stay safe out there! What do you think, AI hero or villain in cyber? Drop your thoughts below.