Phishing threats are becoming more sophisticated and widespread, making it harder for security teams to keep up. With attackers leveraging AI and fraud tech to scale their scams, leading brands like McAfee are turning to automation to protect their customers at scale.
McAfee Information Security Specialist Kelly Brown recently joined Bolster CEO Rod Schultz in a discussion about the growing phishing threat landscape and how McAfee is leveraging Bolster’s AI Security for Email to automate threat detection, reduce team workload, and execute rapid remediation at scale.
The Rise of Fraud Tech and the Need for Automation
Fraud isn’t just growing—it’s evolving. Rod Schultz highlights that fraudsters stole over $1.3 trillion last year, with $40 billion expected in losses from AI-generated scams alone. “To put that into perspective,” he explains, “the NFL’s revenue in 2024 was $13 billion. That means fraudsters are stealing more than triple that through AI-powered scams—and it’s only going to get worse.”
Part of the reason? Attackers are co-opting the same technologies companies use for marketing. “Companies like Google, Meta, HubSpot, and Marketo built tools to help businesses connect with customers,” Rod explains. “But now, fraudsters use those same tools—combined with AI—to target customers for phishing scams at an unprecedented scale.”
The result? A phishing campaign can be launched in under two hours, targeting the same customers businesses have worked so hard (and spent so much) to engage. “These scams don’t just hurt consumers,” Rod notes. “They damage brand trust and create a massive operational burden for security teams.”
How McAfee Uses AI to Automate Threat Remediation
As a leader in security, McAfee receives an overwhelming number of phishing reports through its abuse mailboxes. Managing these at scale was a significant challenge—until they implemented Bolster AI Security for Email.
Kelly Brown shares why McAfee chose Bolster over building an internal tool: “We have an extremely talented team, so we always ask: do we build or do we buy? But building means maintaining infrastructure, adding new features, handling ticketing, and managing takedowns. That’s a huge operational load.”
By partnering with Bolster, McAfee was able to automate phishing threat detection and response—eliminating manual workload while accelerating response time. “The Bolster SOC team acts as an extension of ours,” Kelly explains. “We’re in constant communication, and they take care of takedowns at scale, so we don’t have to.”
During a large-scale phishing attack in early 2024, McAfee saw the power of this automation firsthand. Attackers were impersonating not only McAfee but also a key invoicing vendor, amplifying the risk. “We handed off 100% of phishing reports from that attack to Bolster,” Kelly recalls. “They even coordinated with the vendor directly, freeing up our team’s time entirely.”
The results were staggering:
- A 70% reduction in activity from the threat source in just the first wave of takedowns.
- Automated identification of 1,312 malicious phone numbers, 364 sender domains, and 22 scam URLs—all flagged and mitigated.
- Overall, Bolster reduced McAfee’s internal workload by more than 50%—likely much more according to Kelly.
“The AI-driven detection is incredibly accurate,” he adds. “Out of 10,000 detections, maybe two or three require additional review. That level of precision is what makes this automation invaluable.”
AI-Powered Protection for Consumer Email Security
Many security tools focus on protecting corporate emails, but consumer inboxes remain a massive attack surface. Bolster AI Security for Email fills that gap. “Tools like Proofpoint and Abnormal Security are great for enterprise email security,” Rod explains, “but they don’t address the phishing threats hitting consumers in their Gmail, Outlook, or personal accounts. That’s where we come in.”
Bolster’s AI-powered platform doesn’t just detect threats—it takes them down by dismantling the fraudulent infrastructure behind them. And setup is simple: “We just forward emails to a mirror inbox,” Kelly shares. “Integration with Gmail, Outlook, and other platforms is seamless, and we were fully operational in under 12 hours.”
Looking ahead, Kelly sees automation as the inevitable future of security: “AI isn’t going away—it’s the next big evolution in security. If you’re not working towards automation, you’re already behind.”
How Automate Phishing Threat Remediation at Scale
As phishing threats continue to grow, security teams can’t afford to rely on manual processes. AI-powered automation is the key to detecting, mitigating, and eliminating threats before they damage brand trust or impact customers.
Want to see how Bolster AI Security for Email can protect your brand? Schedule a demo today and learn how automation can transform your security operations.
