Extortion crews have their eyes on high-value AI data, Google warns
Companies 'don't want their IP exposed, so they're willing to pay'
Cybercriminals are targeting high-value AI data and threatening to leak it unless companies pay a ransom, according to Google's threat hunters. One healthcare company was breached, with the criminals stealing corporate data and AI research before demanding a ransom. In another incident, an AI media generation company had sensitive data, including source code and model scripts, stolen, with a similar extortion threat.
Google's Mandiant incident response team responded to multiple such operations in Q2 2026, affecting companies in tech, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and media sectors in North America and Europe. The criminals see AI data as a valuable target, as companies are investing heavily and may be willing to pay to protect their intellectual property.
Experts note that attackers are ahead of the curve in exploiting AI systems, with the threat of automated, intelligent agents increasing the risks posed by these attacks.
Written by urgent.news from The Register's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
