Gen, the global cybersecurity powerhouse behind trusted names like Norton, Avast, LifeLock, and MoneyLion — has released its Q3 2025 Threat Report, highlighting how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are reshaping the global threat landscape from July through September 2025.

AI Expands the Scale of Cybercrime

The latest findings from Gen Threat Labs reveal a rapid escalation in AI-fueled attacks. The company identified over 140,000 phishing websites generated using AI, a sharp rise in automated scam text campaigns, and an 82% increase in breach incidents. Additionally, Gen blocked nearly 37 million device-fingerprinting attempts per month, stopping privacy-invasive tracking efforts across digital platforms.

The report underscores how attackers now use AI to personalize deception, automate persuasion, and harvest valuable credentials at unprecedented speed and scale.

“AI has transformed the pace and precision of cybercrime,” said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. “It’s being used to mass-produce scams, fine-tune ransomware, and target individuals with remarkable accuracy. Our goal is to keep leveraging AI for defense — not deception — and to ensure real-time protection for every digital interaction.”

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Rise of the AI-Driven “Phishing Factories”

One of the most striking developments of the quarter is the emergence of AI-built phishing sites — fake webpages that mimic legitimate brands with near-perfect detail. Gen’s researchers have dubbed these “VibeScams,” emphasizing how they rely less on technical sophistication and more on emotional persuasion.

Thanks to AI website builders, cybercriminals can now create professional-looking phishing pages in minutes instead of hours. Since the start of 2025, Gen has blocked more than 140,000 of these AI-crafted scam sites. The United States, France, Brazil, and Germany were among the most frequently targeted regions.

A common example starts with a fraudulent delivery or payment notification that redirects victims to a brand lookalike page requesting payment information — illustrating how AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for large-scale scams.

Data Breaches: Precision Over Volume

Breach incidents climbed sharply in Q3, rising 82% quarter over quarter. Attackers are shifting focus toward “quality over quantity,” favoring smaller but more precise data theft operations that power identity fraud and account takeovers.

According to Gen telemetry, 83% of breaches exposed passwords, while breaches involving only contact details have declined. Among financial identity theft cases, payday loans represented 32% of fraudulent activity, followed by fake credit card applications and unauthorized bank account modifications.

Criminals are increasingly exploiting third-party integrations and data-sharing networks to reach sensitive personal and financial data faster.

Smarter, AI-Generated Text Scams

Automated SMS scams are also accelerating, thanks to AI’s ability to craft convincing and context-aware messages. Gen’s analysts reviewed hundreds of millions of text messages this quarter and observed recurring lures exploiting urgency and routine human behavior.

Most campaigns were financially motivated, designed to extract small payments, capture card details, or hijack accounts. The top five text-based scam types — fake job offers, refund requests, tax and fine alerts, investment pitches, and delivery notices — represented 26% of all malicious SMS traffic.

These scams often lead victims to counterfeit customer service chats or voice calls, transforming short text messages into elaborate, multi-stage fraud schemes.

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans reported $470 million in losses from text-based scams in 2024, a fivefold jump since 2020. Gen’s telemetry indicates that this trend is accelerating as scammers combine AI-written texts with cloned voices and chatbots to sustain multi-channel deception.

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Digital Fingerprinting Threats Grow

Even as internet users deploy privacy tools and clear cookies, digital fingerprinting continues to threaten online anonymity. A digital fingerprint is a collection of unique device attributes — such as browser settings, hardware details, and software versions — that can track individuals even without cookies.

Gen telemetry revealed that its products blocked an average of 247 million trackers each month, alongside 37 million digital fingerprinting attempts. Tools like Norton and Avast now include privacy protection features capable of identifying and blocking these trackers or disguising device information.

Meanwhile, debates in the UK and EU over proposed “encryption backdoors” — mechanisms that would allow authorities to access encrypted data — have reignited concerns about potential privacy erosion and data security risks.

Major Ransomware Breakthrough

The report also highlights a critical success for cybersecurity defenders. Gen researchers identified a serious flaw in the Midnight Ransomware encryption algorithm and released a free decryptor tool enabling victims to restore files without paying a ransom.

This discovery is particularly valuable for small businesses and individual users, who often lack robust backup systems and suffer the greatest losses when ransomware locks critical files or disrupts operations.

Staying Secure in the Age of AI

As cybercriminals increasingly use AI to amplify deception, Gen’s report emphasizes that both individuals and organizations must stay proactive about security. Multi-layered protection — combining strong passwords, AI-driven detection, and continuous monitoring — is now essential.

By leveraging its family of trusted brands and next-generation AI defense systems, Gen continues its mission to turn innovation into protection, ensuring that technology serves to safeguard digital freedom, not exploit it.

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