Living Security adds live deception game show and CyberEscape investigation to 2026 awareness program

# What changed Living Security added two interactive experiences to its 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month lineup: Verified, a live hosted game-show, and Trust No One, a new CyberEscape Online investigation. Both experiences put employees in realistic, high-pressure scenarios where fabricated identities and communications are central to the challenge.

# Why it matters Communications and identities are increasingly convincing even when fabricated. Deepfake video, voice cloning, machine-generated phishing, and automated social-engineering techniques are reducing the usefulness of classic visual or audio glitches as warning signs. The new experiences focus on teaching employees a practical, repeatable skill set: pause, verify, and rely on trusted processes rather than visual cues.

# What Verified does Verified is a 30-minute, live-hosted game-show that stages three rounds of deception exercises. Participants respond collectively to scenarios that include deepfake video, cloned voices, phishing and smishing messages, impersonations, and threats that use automation to increase urgency. The emphasis is on contextual red flags:

• unexpected urgency or pressure to act

• unfamiliar communication channels used for sensitive requests
• requests for money, credentials, or other sensitive data

The format trains audience members to identify when verification is required and to choose appropriate verification channels. It also introduces emerging risks like prompt injection and autonomous agents acting on suspicious inputs, stressing that automation does not replace human judgment.

# One does

Teams practice three core behaviors during the investigation:

• Slow down before acting
• Verify identities and information through a trusted channel
• Trust evidence and established processes, not assumptions

These behaviors are presented as durable, low-cost defenses that scale even as attack techniques become more sophisticated.

# How these fit into the broader program Both experiences are part of Living Security's 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month program, themed "Navigating Trust in an AI World". The program packages keynote speakers, gamified learning, ready-to-launch campaign content, employee communications, planning resources, and a 30-day engagement calendar for security awareness teams.

Living Security's 2026 State of Human Risk Report is cited in the program materials: 74.8% of risky behavior traces to the riskiest 10% of the workforce, and two in three people in this year's riskiest 10% were not on last year's list. That finding is used to argue for frequent, practice-based interventions rather than one-off awareness campaigns.

# Practical takeaway Train employees with scenarios that force decisions under realistic conditions and measure behavior change. Prioritize simple verification behaviors — pause, verify through trusted channels, follow processes — because those actions remain effective even as deception techniques get better.