What is the Human Firewall 2.0?

It is Rob May's updated cybersecurity model for the age of AI. It moves the focus from spotting bad spelling and clumsy phishing to building judgement, thinking space and independent verification into everyday work.

Why doesn't traditional phishing training work anymore?

AI writes fluent, well-formatted, on-brand messages in any language. The visual cues we trained people to look for, poor spelling, odd phrasing, unfamiliar tone, are no longer reliable warning signs. Judgement has to replace pattern-matching.

How do I verify a suspicious request?

Verify through a different channel from the one that delivered the request. Call a phone number you already have, use a bookmark rather than a link, or confirm in person. Never verify a request using the contact details it supplied.

Keynote resources · For everyone

Human Firewall 2.0 - The ultimate cybersecurity upgrade.

If you've recently seen Rob speak on the Human Firewall 2.0, this is where you can download the free companion toolkit.

Technology protects systems.
People protect decisions.

For years, cybersecurity has been treated as either a technology problem or a training problem. AI has changed that. Poor spelling, clumsy phrasing, an unfamiliar tone, all the things we trained people to look for are no longer reliable warning signs.

Cybersecurity has become a judgement problem. This toolkit for Human Firewall 2.0 sets out the threats worth knowing about, the habits worth building, and the tools worth keeping close to hand.

The three upgrades

Upgrade 01
Trust behaviour, not appearance
Appearance stopped being a reliable test of authenticity the moment AI learned to write a perfect email. The better question isn't 'does this look genuine?' — it's 'does this behave like the person I know?'
Upgrade 02
Create thinking space
Attackers rely on urgency to lower the quality of your thinking. Permission to pause — long enough to ask whether something makes sense — is one of the most valuable things a leader can give their team.
Upgrade 03
Verify independently
When a decision matters, don't verify it through the same route that delivered it. Bank change? Call a number you already have. Login link? Open your own bookmark. Make verification normal.

Human Firewall 2.0 - The ultimate cybersecurity upgrade.

Trust behaviour, not appearance

Create thinking space

Verify independently