GenAI is reshaping the cyber threat landscape, blurring the line between authentic and deceptive communication. Phishing now accounts for 77% of all attacks as threat actors impersonate legitimate platforms like LinkedIn, DocuSign and PayPal to deliver convincing, AI-generated messages.
At the same time, employees have never been busier and work with countless tools throughout their day, creating more openings for hackers to target. Data from Mimecast’s recent Global Threat Intelligence Report shows that 96% of URLs shared within collaboration tools can be classified as medium-to-high risk, underscoring how hybrid work environments are amplifying exposure.
As AI lowers the barrier for large-scale deception, the path forward requires not just stronger governance and brand protection but also targeted interventions that empower companies and their employees to detect and disrupt human-driven risk at scale.
AI-powered Attacks
AI’s involvement in cyberattacks is increasing at an alarming rate, giving hackers access to new tactics, new targets, and a dangerous level of believability. Using GenAI, attackers can quickly craft credible email chains, mimic the voice of an executive, and extract valuable information out of even the savviest tech users. Now, a fake request from a “coworker” doesn’t include the usual awkward phrasing and typos. AI effortlessly creates polished communications that read like a trusted source really wrote it.
These attacks, which are becoming harder to spot, are also becoming more dangerous. The use of AI to carry out these attacks has completely lowered the barrier of entry-meaning what used to require a highly technical background and a good amount of manual work can now be generated in an instant, just by simply using a prompt.
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Attackers Weaponize Human Nature
While technology continues to advance, human defenses aren’t evolving quickly enough to keep attacks from happening. Human error alone accounts for 95% of security breaches. Today’s employees are struggling to discern truth from manipulation across digital channels, putting them at the top of the vulnerability chain.
8% of users are responsible for 80% of incidents, signaling a critical and overlooked truth: different individuals pose different levels of security risks. To address this, organizations should familiarize themselves with four prototypical risk personas: the negligent user, the malicious user, the targeted user and the compromised user. Negligent users, the most common, have no ill intentions, but their lack of awareness when it comes to security protocols puts them in a high-risk category. Malicious users deliberately go against security policies with the intention of causing damage to an organization, whether for personal gain or revenge.
Targeted users haven’t been compromised yet, but they face elevated likelihood of compromise given their access and responsibilities. The fact that they’re highly susceptible to sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks puts them at the top of hackers’ lists. Once an employee has fallen victim to an external attack, they become the compromised user, presenting the highest risk for organizations.
Understanding and managing these personas signals a new path forward: one-size-fits-all security training is out, and personalized, behavior-based trainings are in.
Human Risk Management and Security Practices
Given the threat actor focus on the employee layer, it’s critical for organizations to implement human risk management strategies. This begins by analyzing the current human risk landscape and, most importantly, identifying the highest risk users within the organization. Security teams can use these insights to establish customized training programs and ditch traditional security trainings which treat all employees the same.
To have a fighting chance, organizations must move to a role-based, risk-aligned training approach that addresses the specific threats posed by each role. For example, high-level executives, managers and other employees that have high visibility within organizations will need specialized education that prepares them for advanced social engineering tactics and complex business email compromise schemes. Additionally, research and development teams, which are at higher risk for malware attacks, will require a different training focus, like safe file handling or realistic malware simulation exercises.
Human risk management represents a broader evolution: from traditional security training focused on compliance to strategic security outcomes. While not designed to fully take away human risk, which is impossible, human risk management allows organizations to truly understand, measure, and manage strategic risks. Combining behavioral insights, advanced technology and strategic thinking, organizations can transform human vulnerabilities into a measurable, manageable facet of their defense training.
Security Preparation in the AI-era
The organizations that will thrive in 2026 aren’t the ones with the biggest security budgets, they’re the ones that treat human risk as a strategic priority, not an afterthought. By understanding how attackers think, identifying who’s most vulnerable, and delivering training that meets employees where they are, security leaders can turn their workforce into the first line of defense. In the AI era, the human element isn’t just a liability to manage, it’s a competitive advantage waiting to be unlocked.
