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Somewhere in your inbox, there\u2019s a tedious cybersecurity training course that you clicked through during your onboarding process and have likely forgotten about.<\/p>\n
To combat scam attacks and <\/em>boring cybersecurity training, cybersecurity AI firm Adaptive Security partnered with Emmy-winning late-night host Conan O\u2019Brien on a 15-video training series meant to help employees recognize and stop scam attacks. Filmed in Los Angeles and co-written by O\u2019Brien\u2019s media network, Team Coco, the videos rely on the comedian\u2019s trademark humor to keep viewers engaged with an otherwise alarming topic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to make that training a lot more engaging, a lot more entertaining, to actually drive results, rather than it just be something that someone sits through because it\u2019s mandatory,\u201d says Andrew Jones, Adaptive\u2019s cofounder and chief product officer.<\/p>\n Founded in 2024 by Jones and Brian Long, Adaptive works with more than 1,000 companies and has raised over $140 million from investors, including OpenAI, Nvidia, Bain Capital Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz. Adaptive hopes that O\u2019Brien\u2019s training modules will \u201cmeet the employee where they are\u201d by helping them retain information about a threat that is only increasing with advances in artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n \u201cVoice phishing, deepfake personas, and AI-generated impersonation are hitting companies every week, and most training programs were built years before those attacks existed,\u201d Long, Adaptive\u2019s CEO, said in a press release. \u201cWe wanted to build something personal and engaging, something employees would actually look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n As AI models get better and cheaper, Jones added that many companies are concerned that the attacks are going to get more sophisticated. <\/p>\n \u201cThese attacks are increasingly more sophisticated than they were even six months ago or a year ago,\u201d he told Fast Company<\/em>. \u201cWhen we talk to our customers, they\u2019re all very worried about these attacks\u2014particularly the attacks that are powered by AI.\u201d<\/p>\n These worries are not unfounded. In 2024, the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported more than $16 billion in cybercrime losses<\/a>. And according to a 2024 Deloitte report<\/a>, U.S. fraud losses could more than triple from $12.3 billion in 2023 to $40 billion in 2027 because of generative AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n Phishing, email spoofing, and invoice fraud are just a few of the most well-known types of corporate cyber scams. In the post-AI world, these scams have grown more advanced, especially with the advent of deepfakes, which Jones calls \u201cthe most scary.\u201d Deepfakes allow scammers to use audio or visual impersonation tactics that feel very realistic\u2014like a phone or Zoom call or a Microsoft Teams chat.<\/p>\n \u201cAI also allows the attackers to automate these attacks so they can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week,\u201d Jones added. <\/p>\n AI also allows for scams to be increasingly multimodal and personalized. Not only might employees receive scams in different formats, but AI also allows an attacker to collect private information on someone, like where they live or what school they went to.\u00a0<\/p>\n AI deepfakes are pervasive on social media and in the entertainment industry, too. Bad actors can clone a public figure\u2019s voice or likeness to generate disinformation, nonconsensual explicit images, fraudulent AI endorsements, and fake giveaways.<\/p>\n In the 1990s, one of O\u2019Brien\u2019s most popular comedy bits involved him \u201cdeepfaking\u201d celebrities by replacing their mouths in still photos with his. \u201cI creeped out an entire nation,” O\u2019Brien said in Adaptive\u2019s intro video<\/a>. “Back then, making a deepfake took hours. But today, AI can clone a person\u2019s voice and face in seconds.”<\/p>\n And in a press release, O’Brien added: \u201cI teamed up with Adaptive Security just to figure out what these kids are up to. Turns out it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d \u201cThe nature of this problem is that it impacts every business and every vertical [market],\u201d Jones said. \u201cThe commonality amongst all the conversations is [that] they\u2019re seeing an increase. They\u2019re very worried about the sophistication of the attacks, and they want to make sure that their employees are prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adaptive\u2019s technology uses AI models to power its enterprise services and products\u2014including training modules, phishing simulations, and risk scoring. <\/p>\n