Adaptive Security, a New York-based cybersecurity firm, has partnered with talk show host Conan O'Brien to produce a 15-part training series aimed at improving corporate employee awareness of AI-driven threats. The initiative marks a shift from traditional presentation-style training toward celebrity-fronted content designed to maintain engagement.
A celebrity approach to security awareness
The 15-episode series features Conan O'Brien and covers topics such as phishing attacks, impersonation attempts, voice cloning schemes, deepfakes, and other fraud types associated with AI. According to Adaptive Security, each episode begins with a comedy segment related to the subject before transitioning into educational material. The production involved collaboration between Adaptive employees and Team Coco, O'Brien's media company.
The series will be available to enterprise customers using Adaptive's training and cybersecurity awareness products. Additionally, the company is releasing supplementary educational videos that do not feature O'Brien.
"I teamed up with Adaptive Security just to figure out what these kids are up to. Turns out it's pretty cool," O'Brien said in a statement.
The partnership reportedly emerged after Adaptive employees expressed appreciation for some of O'Brien's long-running comedy sketches and TV segments.
AI fraud is creating new concerns
Adaptive Security chief product officer Andrew Jones described the threat landscape as having a clear "before and after" with the advent of generative AI. "There's really a before and after," Jones said. "There's the before, which was pre-AI, and then there's the after, which is after AI — and after AI, these attacks have gotten much more sophisticated." He added that businesses need clear strategies because emerging technologies make fraud campaigns increasingly difficult to detect and counter.
Industry forecasts frequently cited by cybersecurity firms suggest financial losses connected to AI-enabled fraud may continue rising during the coming years. Adaptive points to these projections as evidence of growing risks and argues that improved training may help organizations reduce their exposure.
Adaptive Security's growth and offerings
Founded in 2024, Adaptive Security develops products intended to help organizations recognize and respond to cyber threats. Its offerings include security awareness courses, phishing simulations, and other services supported by a combination of proprietary and publicly available AI models. The company has raised more than $140 million from several funding rounds involving prominent technology investors, reflecting broader interest in cybersecurity products as organizations face growing pressure to strengthen employee awareness programs.
| Threat Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Phishing | Fraudulent emails impersonating trusted contacts |
| Impersonation | Fake messages from executives or vendors |
| Voice cloning | AI-generated audio mimicking a colleague's voice |
| Deepfakes | Realistic video or audio used to deceive employees |
| AI fraud | Automated, targeted attacks using generative AI |
Relevance for trade and logistics professionals
While the training targets general corporate employees, the implications extend to international trade and supply chain operations. Phishing and impersonation attacks can target customs brokers, freight forwarders, and trade compliance officers who handle sensitive documentation and payments. Deepfakes and voice cloning could be used to authorize fraudulent transfers or compromise trade secrets. For trade executives, ensuring staff can identify AI-generated fraud is becoming a critical component of corporate security.
Adaptive Security's approach using celebrity content like Conan O'Brien aims to break the cycle of disengaged, box-ticking training sessions. The company believes maintaining employee attention is a key challenge that its series addresses.
What to watch
The rollout of the Conan O'Brien series to Adaptive's enterprise customers will test whether celebrity-fronted training can measurably reduce security incidents. Trade-focused organizations should monitor the effectiveness of such programs as a potential model for their own awareness initiatives.
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