Security Week: Exploring AI-Assisted Social Engineering Attacks to Help Prepare Leaders for What Lies Ahead in 2026

SecurityWeek interviewed NetSPI’s Director of Social Engineering, Patrick Sayler, for Cyber Insights 2026 exploring AI-assisted social engineering attacks to help prepare leaders for what lies ahead in 2026. Read the preview below or view it online. 

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Patrick Sayler, Director of Social Engineering at NetSPI, highlights the growing threat of AI-assisted social engineering in SecurityWeek’s Cyber Insights 2026. He emphasizes that the most successful breaches now exploit trust rather than technical vulnerabilities, leveraging AI to automate deception at scale. From hyper-personalized phishing campaigns to deepfake-driven attacks, AI is reshaping the landscape, making social engineering more sophisticated and harder to detect. 

Patrick advocates for prevention through process redesign and mindset shifts. He suggests adopting workflows that encourage verification, such as requiring multiple approvals for sensitive actions, and fostering a culture of skepticism. By integrating zero-trust principles into human behavior and adapting communication protocols, organizations can better defend against these evolving threats. 

You can read the full article here.