Ed. note: This is the latest in the article series, Cybersecurity: Tips From the Trenches, by our friends at Sensei Enterprises, a boutique provider of IT, cybersecurity, and digital forensics services.
Ransomware used to be a high-stakes game requiring specialized skills. You needed serious coding chops, a custom exploit, and weeks of preparation. Now? All you need is a malicious idea, a large language model, and an internet connection.
Attackers are turning to generative AI to write malware, craft ransom notes, and automate campaigns. What used to require an experienced hacker team can increasingly be done with a few well-engineered prompts. That shift isn’t theoretical — and for law firms and their clients, it’s a legal, operational, and reputational powder keg.
AI Lowers the Barrier to Entry
Criminal groups are using generative AI to develop ransomware tools — even without deep technical expertise. Meanwhile, researchers have demonstrated proof-of-concept malware capable of dynamically generating attack code, adapting to defenses, and hiding its tracks in real time.
Translation: the entry barrier for ransomware is collapsing. What once took months of work can soon be launched in hours by someone with more ambition than expertise.
Why Lawyers Should Care
This isn’t just an IT problem. It’s a legal headache waiting to happen:
- Attribution gets fuzzy. If an attack is partially AI-generated, was the “actor” the hacker or the model itself? Blame will get murky fast.
- Regulation lags. Many cyber laws assume human-driven attacks; AI complicates breach notification, liability, and compliance obligations.
- Contracts will be tested. Indemnities, force majeure clauses, and “malicious acts” exclusions weren’t drafted with autonomous code in mind. Expect disputes.
- Duty to foresee risk expands. If firms know AI ransomware is coming, regulators and plaintiffs may argue they had a duty to prepare for it.
Lawyers advising on risk, contracts, or governance can’t treat AI ransomware as tomorrow’s problem. It’s already here.
What Counsel Should Tell Clients — Now
If you have clients with any meaningful digital footprint, this is your checklist:
- Stress-test incident response plans: Assume an attacker can regenerate malware instantly if the first attempt fails. Update playbooks for adaptive, AI-driven threats.
- Audit contracts and indemnities: Push clients to revisit liability provisions in tech agreements. Define “malicious acts” broadly enough to include AI-generated attacks — or risk ambiguity later.
- Add AI scenarios to tabletop exercises: Ransomware plans often assume static attacks. Add scenarios where the payload evolves mid-incident or uses generative tools to craft spear-phishing campaigns on the fly.
- Require transparency from vendors: If third-party vendors use AI in their systems, demand to know how they monitor, secure, and update these tools. Silence in contracts here could lead to future lawsuits.
- Monitor evolving regulations: As AI threats grow, lawmakers will respond. Clients should anticipate tighter reporting requirements, shifts in liability, and sector-specific dates.
We’re Not at the Apocalypse — Yet
AI-generated ransomware is still developing, but it is not yet the next WannaCry. However, it indicates the direction in which things are heading. Criminal groups are already experimenting with AI to reduce costs, increase scale, and automate extortion.
For lawyers, the message is clear: update your risk perspective before reality catches up. When the first AI-generated ransom note arrives, you don’t want to explain to your client — or a regulator — why no one prepared for it.
Because the era of AI ransomware isn’t on its way, it has already arrived.
Michael C. Maschke is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. Mr. Maschke is an EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE), a Certified Computer Examiner (CCE #744), an AccessData Certified Examiner (ACE), a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He is a frequent speaker on IT, cybersecurity, and digital forensics, and he has co-authored 14 books published by the American Bar Association. He can be reached at [email protected].
Sharon D. Nelson is the co-founder of and consultant to Sensei Enterprises, Inc. She is a past president of the Virginia State Bar, the Fairfax Bar Association, and the Fairfax Law Foundation. She is a co-author of 18 books published by the ABA. She can be reached at [email protected].
John W. Simek is the co-founder of and consultant to Sensei Enterprises, Inc. He holds multiple technical certifications and is a nationally known digital forensics expert. He is a co-author of 18 books published by the American Bar Association. He can be reached at [email protected].