AI-Assisted Social Engineering Attacks Continue To Rise
KnowBe4, Thursday, February 19th, 2026
Social engineering remained the top initial access vector for cyberattacks in 2025, with increasing assistance from AI tools, according to a report from ThreatDown. The researchers warn that AI will likely become a core component of social engineering attacks throughout 2026.
'Deepfake voice, image, and video impersonation now requires minimal expertise and only a handful of reference images or seconds of audio,' the researchers write.
'Criminals are using these capabilities across a wide spectrum of attacks: creating fabricated IDs for financial fraud; mimicking IT or helpdesk staff to persuade employees to share passwords, reset multi-factor authentication (MFA), or approve remote access; and impersonating executives to conduct highly convincing forms of CEO fraud.