WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 -- The number in the headline is 84 percent. The evidence behind it is a questionnaire answered by what CBS News says were 1,200 IT and security professionals, published by the cybersecurity firm that ran it.

CBS reported on Wednesday that Semperis's Ransomware Risk Report found AI was exploited in attacks experienced by 84 percent of surveyed victims, and that 44 percent said attackers turned their own AI agents or systems against them. The respondents, CBS said, spanned nine countries and eight industries.

Those are respondents' reports, not attack data, and the bases keep shifting. CBS's headline, "AI linked to 84% of ransomware attacks," says attacks; its body says surveyed victims. Semperis's own landing page fo...