AI-Driven Phishing Surge and Mobile Phishing Exposure

Research and industry reporting indicate that phishing campaigns are increasingly using AI-generated content, with one large-scale analysis finding a sharp jump during the 2025 holiday period and sustained elevated levels into early 2026. Hoxhunt reported that AI-generated phishing rose from under 5% of observed attempts for most of 2025 to 56% during the December holiday season, then remained at 40% in January 2026. The same reporting also highlighted a 50-fold increase in malicious SVG attachments, along with common lures including free rewards, financial-service impersonation, fake invoices, HR-themed messages, malicious links, and the use of open redirects to obscure destination infrastructure.

Separate commentary on smartphone security reinforces that phishing remains the most common consumer mobile threat, with Omdia survey data showing 27% of consumers experienced phishing scams and higher rates in English-speaking countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. Omdia also found that sophisticated phishing attacks frequently bypass on-device protections, underscoring that AI is improving attacker tradecraft faster than many user-facing defenses can adapt. A separate SC Media perspective on AI jailbreaking is not about the phishing trend itself; it focuses on broader AI application security failures and misuse of AI systems, including exposed child data and model abuse by a state-backed group.