Listen on: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

In this episode of Hackers & Humans, I sat down with Dr. Matthew Canham, former FBI special agent, research professor at UCF, and Executive Director of the Cognitive Security Institute, to talk about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the social engineering landscape.

We dug into the evolving tactics used by attackers and what defenders can (and can't) do to keep up. Deepfakes. AI voice bots. Machine psychology. Even attacks against internal AI agents. It’s not science fiction anymore—it’s happening right now.

Watch (or listen) to the full episode to hear us break down:

Why “Special Agent” is more than a title (and how the FBI got the name)

• How AI voice scams are already bypassing human trust—and why the tech is outpacing detection tools
  
  

• Why adversaries are now targeting AI agents inside your network—not just humans
  
  

• The rise of “machine psychology”—studying AI behavior the way we study humans
  
  

• How AI could help defend against social engineering—but also why Siri might be part of the problem
  
  

• Why voice authentication is not secure anymore—and what OpenAI has said about it
  
  

• How permission systems for AI agents may be doomed to repeat human mistakes
  
  

Matthew also shared insights from his work at the Cognitive Security Institute, a nonprofit that runs weekly meetups and research projects on human-AI security issues. If you’re interested in the intersection of psychology, deception, and technology, you should check them out.

Chapters

00:00Introduction to Cognitive Security and AI Integration

03:06 The Evolution of Social Engineering

07:30 AI's Role in Modern Cyber Threats

11:13 Challenges in Detection and Defense

15:30 The Future of AI in Social Engineering

19:10 Machine Psychology and AI Behavior

23:10 Active Defense Strategies Against AI Threats

27:19 The Ethical Implications of AI in Cybersecurity