What you'll learn

Phishing and impersonation used to require real skill to execute convincingly, and defenders could train people to spot the tells. Generative AI has closed that gap—confirmed operations now show nation-state and criminal actors using it to draft convincing lures and impersonate targets in real time. In this course, AI-Augmented Threats: AI-Enhanced Social Engineering, you'll learn to recognize and defend against AI-powered social engineering attacks. First, you'll examine how threat actors like Kimsuky use generative AI to research targets and craft personalized spear-phishing content. Next, you'll investigate sophisticated identity fabrication techniques, including the Arup fraud's use of real-time deepfakes to authorize a $25 million wire transfer. Finally, you'll design practical defenses that counter these techniques with verification culture and phishing-resistant authentication, replacing outdated approaches like grammar checks. When you're finished with this course, you'll have the defensive framework and case-study insights needed to identify AI-enhanced social engineering in your environment and implement concrete controls to stop it.