Ransomware Attacks on Automotive and Smart Mobility More Than Doubled in 2025, According to New Research by Upstream Security Upstream's report finds that the rapid adoption of Physical AI, with autonomous vehicles among the first production-ready systems in real-world operation, is expanding attack surfaces and accelerating attacker capabilities, creating large-scale cyber risks with massive impact potential. SHIBUYA, Japan, May 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Upstream, the leading AI-powered cybersecurity detection and response platform (XDR) purpose-built for connected vehicles, physical AI, and smart mobility, released today its 2026 Global Automotive and Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report. Now in its eighth year, the report reveals a material escalation in cybersecurity risks across Automotive and Smart Mobility. This is driven by the rapid expansion of APIs and AI-driven architectures, alongside the increased sophistication of organized threat actors. Together, these forces are widening the gap between adversary capability and the industry's current cybersecurity posture, with ransomware continuing to emerge as one of the fastest-growing and most disruptive attack types in 2025. Analyzing 494 publicly reported cybersecurity incidents from 2025 within the Automotive and Smart Mobility ecosystem worldwide, the report recognizes two converging trends reshaping automotive cybersecurity. AI as a Double-Edged Sword AI architectures have dramatically expanded the attack surface, introducing new entry points and systematic exposures across the entire ecosystem. "The automotive industry is an early adopter of Physical AI, and as AI capabilities rapidly expand across markets, it now serves as the reference architecture for safety-critical, highly connected systems," said Yoav Levy, Co-Founder and CEO of Upstream. "However, AI is also enabling attackers to move faster, at greater scale, and with more automation while the industry is still relying on security models built for a far more static world. Our 2026 report shows that AI significantly expands the cybersecurity attack surface, as traditional perimeter defenses