Vendor dataUpdated 23 Oct 2026

56%rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation

Name: 56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026)
Creator: IBM (research by Ponemon Institute)
License: Copyright IBM. Cite with attribution.

56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026, IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report)

Vendor dataChecked at source, 23 Oct 2026All sizesGlobalCyber security · AI threats

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In plain words

What this number really says

56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026).

56%

the latest figure (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026)

Vendor data

type of source

Why you can trust it. IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report: vendor data, a company measuring its own customers or panel. 602 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions, breaches March 2025 to February 2026; 3,558 interviews by Ponemon Institute.

Key facts

Period Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026
Region Global
Company size All sizes
Next data 31 Jul 2027

Source: IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report, Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026

Method and use

How it was measured, and how to use it

How it was measured

Publisher: IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report
Source type: Vendor data: A company measuring its own customers or panel
What it measures: 56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation
Data period: Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026 (ends 28 Feb 2026)
Published by the source: 29 Jul 2026
Who is counted: 602 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions, breaches March 2025 to February 2026; 3,558 interviews by Ponemon Institute.
In the source's words: more than one in four organizations that experienced a malicious attack reported it was AI‑driven, a 56% increase over last year. AI deepfake impersonation and AI‑enabled malware drove the highest volume of those incidents.
Checked at source: 23 Oct 2026: Read in the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026 PDF (IBM asset server). Key findings p.4. New stat.
Reuse: Copyright IBM. Cite with attribution.. Interview-based study of about 600 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions; redraw only from plain numbers with attribution.
Next expected update: 31 Jul 2027 (IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), yearly, late July)
Original page: www-api.ibm.com: Cost of a Data Breach Report
Data files: CSV · JSON (stable links)

Full change log

No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.

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APA

IBM (research by Ponemon Institute). (2026). 56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation. Via digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/ai-driven-attacks-share-of-malicious-breaches

MLA

"56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation." IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report, Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026. digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/ai-driven-attacks-share-of-malicious-breaches.

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<a href="https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/ai-driven-attacks-share-of-malicious-breaches">56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation</a> (IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026)

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What is the latest figure for AI threats (Global)?

56% rise in AI-driven attacks: more than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack said it was AI-driven, led by deepfake impersonation, for Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026, according to IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report. We checked it at the source on 23 Oct 2026.

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