Concentrix and IRONSCALES Partner to Combat AI Deepfake Threat

Email security vendor IRONSCALES and Fortune 500 technology services provider Concentrix have partnered to combat the rising threat of AI-generated deepfakes. Channel Insider spoke with executives at both companies to learn more about why businesses need to prepare for deepfake threats and how their partnership bolsters their customers’ protection.

Deepfakes becoming more sophisticated as sheer volume of threats increases

The new partnership comes as deepfake threats continue to rise as AI tools become more accessible. The term refers to a range of audio, video and written content that is generated using an AI model and creates a false likeness of a person who may or may not exist. To IRONSCALES founder and CEO Eyal Benishti, deepfakes are the new frontier in sophisticated threat schemes targeting enterprises everywhere.

“On paper, this is quite scary, honestly,” Benishti said. “The threat posed by deepfakes is not hypothetical anymore. We see it happening frequently now, and we see threat actors finding success with it, which then encourages more attacks.”

Benishti said IRONSCALES has seen a sharp increase in the use of deepfakes in email phishing schemes over the past year. While the vendor has offered email security solutions aimed at protecting organizations from phishing for years, the current threat landscape is different, and often more dangerous, than times in the past.

“I think we’re on the cusp of phishing 3.0, meaning this will become more and more frequent as AI keeps maturing and now as we see agentic AI growing in popularity,” Benishti said. “Agentic AI and the focus on automation is great for the good guys, but it also means the bad guys can now do everything at scale and not even have to do it manually.”

On the service provider side of the equation, Concentrix has also noticed a change in the way its clients are at risk this year compared to years prior.

“A lot of these attack types, in email messages with phishing links for example, aren’t necessarily new,” Concentrix Vice President of Managed Security Services Dominique Gagnon said. “It’s the sophistication of the content and the sheer volume of it that we haven’t seen before and need to now be aware of.”

Partnership rooted in expertise and customer success leads to integration

The agreement between Concentrix and IRONSCALES integrates the latter’s email security solution into the former’s CyberProtect service offering to create an automated and AI-driven solution and provide 24/7 defense for customers.

The AI-generated email threat defense is complemented by security awareness training and phishing simulation testing that is personalized at the individual level based on inbox content and test results.

Concentrix provides a variety of IT and security services to clients worldwide, and Gagnon said the partnership with IRONSCALES will further enhance the value of the CyberProtect offering through utilizing AI and automation against itself.

“We do things a bit differently, in that we don’t just keep adding on modules to our security offering,” Gagnon said. “We partner with companies so we can all innovate for our clients.”

“We drink our own champagne, too, so to speak,” Gagnon continued, noting the provider has utilized IRONSCALES and sees their blended focus on AI technology and employee training as the necessary path toward a more secure future.

“We knew Concentrix realized and understood the need for a hybrid approach between using AI and still needing to keep people in the loop,” Benishti said. “We all agree that AI should augment the work that people do, not replace them. And yes, AI is being utilized by the threat actors, but you need to be able to fight fire with fire.”

“We believe in order to defend against threats created with AI, your defense as a business needs to include AI as well,” Gagnon said.

How the channel can facilitate approach to the threat landscape

All channel partners, from MSPs and MSSPs to VARs and even systems integrators, hear constantly from vendors and customers that security is a top priority for the year. So, what can they do? Benishti said it’s important to focus on both elements of the threat landscape: technology and people.

“We always say that we are really here to change behavior and change the culture within an organization,” Benishti said. “Awareness and action are the two things we want every employee to build. You will always have a few people who just always want to click a link, because it’s how they are wired, but you want to have more people in the organization willing to flag suspicious content and aware of how important it is to do that.”

Gagnon agrees, highlighting that all organizations need a structured program in place to continuously educate and train employees to recognize suspicious messaging that might slip through the cracks. Gagnon said partners can help their clients, through technology provisioning and best practices advising, build a culture that sets employees up for success.

“It’s a culture you need to implement in which people are not afraid to question,” Gagnon said. “Empower employees and allow them to be part of your defense, because they absolutely are.”

Email security continues to be an important offering for MSPs securing their clients. Read more about the top email security solutions partners should consider this year.