Drivers of cyber extortion surge examined

Increasingly active phishing groups and escalating cybercrime-as-a-service operations have fueled cyber extortion, with Orange Cyberdefense noting that the number of victims has risen by 45% from October 2024 to September 2025, Infosecurity Magazine reports.

Cyber extortion has also become more prevalent due to the mounting exploitation of social engineering techniques and AI, with the latter noted by Akamai EMEA Director of Security Strategy and Technology Richard Meeus to have bolstered phishing email accuracy.

"All AI has done is allowed the attacker to generate good quality phishing emails at speed and at scale," said Meeus. With threat actors expected to further harness OAuth exploits, QR code malware, and AI in their attacks this year, organizations have been urged by Forescout Vice President of Security Intelligence Rik Ferguson and Sophos Director of Threat Intelligence Rafe Pilling to update high-risk workflows with out-of-band verification and strengthen multi-factor authentication, respectively.