ESET Research reported PromptLock, ransomware samples uploaded to VirusTotal that use a locally run open-weight model to generate scripts for file discovery, exfiltration and encryption at runtime, and called it the first known AI-powered ransomware. In a September 3, 2025 update, ESET said the authors of an academic study had contacted it and that their research prototype closely resembles the samples, supporting ESET's view that PromptLock was a proof of concept rather than malware used in attacks.
Why it matters
What ESET called the first known AI-powered ransomware closely resembled an academic prototype, a caution about how early AI-malware claims are read.
Key facts
As stated in the sources, with where to find them.
- PromptLock runs OpenAI’s gpt-oss-20b model locally through the Ollama API to generate Lua scripts from hard-coded prompts.Article body
- Windows and Linux variants were found on VirusTotal; ESET did not see PromptLock in actual attacks.Article body
- Update, September 3, 2025: an academic study, Ransomware 3.0, describes a prototype that closely resembles the samples.Update note
Findings that cite this record
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Key questions this bears on
- How are attackers using AI agents in real operations?Increasingly to run parts of intrusions: providers and vendors report agent-driven espionage, extortion and credential theft, and malware that queries LLMs.