KnowBe4 Launches AI Agents to Counter Phishing Threats

The rise of artificial intelligence tools has sparked a transformation in phishing attacks, with cybercriminals using language models to craft increasingly convincing emails, messages and social media posts. These AI-generated campaigns have reduced traditional indicators of fraudulent communications, such as poor grammar or obvious spelling errors, making detection more challenging for both users and security tools.

Security teams report a sharp increase in the volume and sophistication of these attacks. Criminal groups are using AI to personalise phishing attempts at scale, analysing public data to create contextually relevant messages that reference real events, colleagues and business operations. This automation has reduced the cost and complexity of launching targeted campaigns, leading to a surge in attempts across sectors.

In response to this evolving threat, security awareness training provider KnowBe4 has unveiled a suite of artificial intelligence tools aimed at helping organisations measure and reduce human cyber risk in response to the growing sophistication of AI-generated phishing attacks.

AI powers new wave of social engineering attacks

A LastPass survey reveals that 95% of cybersecurity professionals report increasing difficulty in detecting phishing attempts due to AI-generated content. This challenge has prompted KnowBe4, which provides security awareness training and simulated phishing platforms, to develop its Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents (AIDA).

The core of the system is the SmartRisk Agent, which analyses user behaviour across KnowBe4's product range to generate risk scores at individual, group and organisational levels. These scores help security teams identify potential vulnerabilities in human security practices.

KnowBe4's AIDA targets personalised risk reduction

The platform leverages multiple AI technologies to create adaptive training programmes that aim to modify user behaviour. This approach marks a departure from traditional security awareness training, which often applies identical content across organisations regardless of individual risk levels or roles.

“AIDA offers a suite of AI-native agents that transform how security professionals approach human risk management,” says Stu Sjouwerman, CEO at KnowBe4. “AIDA empowers organisations to stay ahead of AI-based cybersecurity attacks by measuring human risk scores to better understand and mitigate threats within the risk landscape.”

AIDA components target specific security challenges

The platform includes an Automated Training Agent that processes 316 indicators across seven knowledge areas to assign relevant training content based on factors including job role and risk score. A Template Generation Agent creates phishing simulations based on current attack methods, incorporating Social Engineering Indicators from the NIST Phish Scale Framework.

The Knowledge Refresher Agent delivers targeted security reminders at intervals determined by AI analysis of user behaviour and risk levels. This component aims to reinforce critical security concepts when they are most relevant to specific users or groups.

The Policy Quiz Agent generates assessments based on organisation-specific security policies, moving beyond generic security questions to test understanding of internal procedures and requirements. This personalisation extends to language preferences, with AIDA capable of delivering content in multiple languages based on user profiles.

Future developments focus on risk measurement

KnowBe4 reports that these initial four agents represent the first phase of AIDA's deployment, with additional capabilities planned for release. The company emphasises the importance of measuring and quantifying human cyber risk as organisations face increasing pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of their security awareness programmes.

AIDA is available to KnowBe4 customers with Diamond level subscriptions. Stu says: "AIDA is not merely the next step in KnowBe4's human risk management, it is a quantum leap forward."

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