2026 SMB Threat Report: Fake AI Tools Drive Attacks

Kaspersky’s 2026 SMB Threat Report documents more than 33,000 attacks between January and April 2026 in which malware or potentially unwanted applications masqueraded as popular AI platforms including ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Grok, Claude, and Gemini.[1] The report highlights how adversaries weaponize user trust in AI tools to distribute malicious payloads to SMB employees, raising AI supply chain and data leakage risks for organizations adopting third‑party AI services.[1]

Kaspersky’s 2026 SMB Threat Report found over 33,300–33,352 attacks in the first four months of 2026 where malware or potentially unwanted applications masqueraded as popular AI services used by SMBs.[1][4][6] These attacks impersonated tools like ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Grok, and Gemini, indicating that adversaries now weaponize user trust in third‑party AI platforms as a primary delivery channel for malicious payloads.[1][2][3][6] From a RealGround perspective, this pattern is an AI supply chain risk: organizations relying on external AI tools face compromise via fake installers, shadow AI usage, and unsanctioned downloads, which can lead to data leakage and credential theft even when core systems are well protected.[3][5] Practically, SMBs need vetted AI tool catalogs, strict distribution controls, and AI-specific supply chain governance (including SBOM-style visibility into AI services and their installers) to ensure staff only use verified AI platforms and to reduce the risk that malicious lookalike tools become an unnoticed entry point into the business.