AI Didn’t Invent Social Engineering, It Made It Worse
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
Sausalito, Calif. – Mar. 5, 2026
In the latest episode of “CISO Confidential“, a series on the popular Cybercrime Magazine Podcast sponsored by Doppel, host Charlie Osborne asked Deneen DeFiore, VP and chief information security officer at United Airlines, how AI is changing the psychological dynamics and scam tactics compared to traditional phishing.
“AI didn’t invent social engineering, it’s just made it more scalable, precise, and believable,” said DeFiore. “It’s about simulating a trusted relationship. It’s a psychological shift when something sounds like your boss, and the references are real. Your instinct as a human is to comply, and AI is able to target that instinct pretty effectively.
Bobby Ford, Chief Strategy Officer at Doppel, and former CISO at HPE, joined Osborne and DeFiore, and emphasized how much focus the security community has placed on email and phishing, which has lowered our guard as it relates to phone calls and social media, and deepfake attacks.
In this episode, you can listen to a Fortune 500 CISO on the next generation social engineering threats faced by large enterprises, and a leading vendor who is helping to defend against digital intruders and cybercriminals.
Cybercrime Magazine is Page ONE for Cybersecurity. Go to any of our sections to read the latest:
- SCAM. The latest schemes, frauds, and social engineering attacks being launched on consumers globally.
- NEWS. Breaking coverage on cyberattacks and data breaches, and the most recent privacy and security stories.
- HACK. Another organization gets hacked every day. We tell you who, what, where, when, and why.
- VC. Cybersecurity venture capital deal flow with the latest investment activity from various sources around the world.
- M&A. Cybersecurity mergers and acquisitions including big tech, pure cyber, product vendors and professional services.
- BLOG. What’s happening at Cybercrime Magazine. Plus the stories that don’t make headlines (but maybe they should).
- PRESS. Cybersecurity industry news and press releases in real time from the editors at Business Wire.
- PODCAST. New episodes daily on the Cybercrime Magazine Podcast feature victims, law enforcement, vendors, and cybersecurity experts.
- RADIO. Tune into WCYB Digital Radio at Cybercrime.Radio, the first and only round-the-clock internet radio station devoted to cybersecurity.
Contact us to send story tips, feedback and suggestions, and for sponsorship opportunities and custom media productions.
The post AI Didn’t Invent Social Engineering, It Made It Worse appeared first on Cybercrime Magazine.
>>More