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   Well, that is awkward - MIT Sloan forced to withdraw "absolutely ridiculous"   
   paper claiming AI played "significant role" in most ransomware attacks   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 05 Nov 2025 20:24:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   MIT Sloan retracts paper linking most ransomware to AI after global experts   
   condemn exaggerated claims and lack of credible evidence.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   MIT Sloan School of Management has been forced to withdraw a working paper   
   which claimed AI played a significant role in most ransomware attacks after   
   widespread criticism from experts.    
      
   The study, co-authored by MIT researchers and executives from Safe Security,   
   alleged that 80.83 percent of recorded ransomware events were attributed to   
   threat actors utilizing AI.    
      
   Published earlier in 2025 and later cited by several outlets, the report drew   
   immediate scrutiny for presenting extraordinary figures with little evidence.   
      
   Dubious research    
      
   Among them were prominent security researcher Kevin Beaumont, who described   
   the paper as absolutely ridiculous, calling its findings, almost complete   
   nonsense.    
      
   "It describes almost every major ransomware group as using AI  without any   
   evidence (it's also not true, I monitor many of them)," Beaumont wrote in a   
   Mastodon thread.   
      
   "It even talks about Emotet (which hasn't existed for many years) as being AI   
   driven,".    
      
   Cybersecurity expert Marcus Hutchins agreed, saying, I burst out laughing at   
   the title and when I read their methodology, I laughed even harder.    
      
   He also criticized the article for undermining public understanding of    
   threats like ransomware and malware removal practices.    
      
   Following the backlash, MIT Sloan removed the paper from its site and    
   replaced it with a note saying it was being updated based on some recent   
   reviews.    
      
   Michael Siegel, one of the authors, confirmed that revisions were underway.    
      
   "We received some recent comments on the working paper and are working as    
   fast as possible to provide an updated version, Siegel said.    
      
   The main points of the paper are that the use of AI in ransomware attacks is   
   increasing, we should find a way to measure it, and there are things    
   companies can do now to prepare."    
      
   In simple terms, he claims that the paper does not assert a definitive global   
   percentage but acts as a warning on how AI might be measured in cyberattacks.    
      
   Even Googles AI-based search assistant dismissed the claim, stating the    
   figure was not supported by current data.    
      
   The controversy reflects a growing tension in cybersecurity research, where   
   enthusiasm for AI can sometimes overtake factual analysis.    
      
   AI has genuine potential in both attack and defense, thus improving    
   ransomware protection , automated threat detection, and antivirus systems is    
   a good move.    
      
   However, overstating its malicious use risks distorting priorities,    
   especially when it is coming from institutions as prominent as MIT Sloan.    
      
   Via The Register    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/well-that-is-awkward-mit-sloan-forced-to-withdra   
   w-absolutely-ridiculous-paper-claiming-ai-played-significant-role-in-most-rans   
   omware-attacks   
      
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