ESET discovers AI-powered ransomware, PromptLock. How to prepare?

🧠⚠️ AI meets ransomware: Researchers have flagged 'PromptLock' — malware that hijacks large language models to steal data, encrypt files & auto-generate ransom notes. A chilling reminder for research teams deploying AI tools: rigorous prompt security is no longer optional. Stay informed, stay protected. 🔍🛡️ #AIinResearch #DataSecurity #MarketResearchInsights

Ransomware 3.0: When AI Learns to Hack. ⚠️ Ransomware 3.0 is here — at least in the lab. Researchers have built a prototype that uses AI to automate everything attackers normally do manually: 📍 Maps the system the moment it lands 🔐 Finds and encrypts valuable data 📝 Auto-writes ransom notes, adapting the language, intimidation style, and even payment terms to fit the target It’s not “in the wild” yet, but this is a warning shot: AI-driven ransomware could be faster, smarter, and harder to defend against than anything we’ve seen. This isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s a glimpse at how quickly the threat landscape can change when attackers use the same AI tools defenders rely on. #MSP #Cybersecurity #LasVegasTech #ManagedServices #24x7Support

Security researchers have just identified what could be the first ‘AI-powered’ ransomware strain – and it uses OpenAI’s gpt-oss-20b model | PromptLock uses OpenAI's gpt-oss-20b model and generates malicious scripts on the fly | ITPro

Security researchers have just identified what could be the first ‘AI-powered’ ransomware strain – and it uses OpenAI’s gpt-oss-20b model https://lnkd.in/edkX3ycJ

In late August 2025, cybersecurity researchers discovered something new and unsettling: a ransomware called PromptLock. What makes it different? It’s the first ransomware known to use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate parts of its attack in real time. Let’s break this down step by step in simple language.

Great, just what we needed: AI tools helping criminals code ransomware now. No more sloppy phish emails with typos, it’s machine-level clean and might actually outsmart your firewall. The risks jump from nerd-cave ransomware to global chaos real quick when AI can optimize attacks faster than any human hacker. Everyone talks about AI ethics, but barely anyone’s talking about evil AI evolution on the dark side. Hope your incident response team has AI muscle too, or you’re sitting ducks. Oh, and yeah, reset those backups. Because this is gonna get ugly.

First AI Ransomware ‘PromptLock’ Uses 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗴𝗽𝘁-𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝟮𝟬𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 for Encryption : A new ransomware has been identified, which is believed to be the first-ever ransomware strain that leverages a local AI model to generate its malicious components. PromptLock leverages Lua scripts generated from hard-coded prompts to enumerate the local filesystem, inspect target files, exfiltrate selected data, and perform encryption. https://lnkd.in/gdmKijcm

Researchers raise the alarm that a new, rapidly evolving ransomware strain uses an OpenAI model to render and execute malicious code in real time, ushering in a new era of cyberattacks against enterprises. https://lnkd.in/efPfPbEW

🚨 AI is coming for your data. This new ransomware is leveraging OpenAI to generate malicious code while it's on your network. Start focusing on how you're going to defend against this. Check out what Aaron B. has to say about it:

Researchers raise the alarm that a new, rapidly evolving ransomware strain uses an OpenAI model to render and execute malicious code in real time, ushering in a new era of cyberattacks against enterprises. https://lnkd.in/e8YPwJWu