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October 9, 2024

How Darktrace won an email security trial by learning the business, not the breach

Discover how Darktrace identified a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) attack to successfully acquire a prospective customer in a trial alongside two other email security vendors. This case demonstrates the clear differentiator of true unsupervised machine learning applied to the right use cases, compared to miscellaneous vendor hype around AI.
Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Carlos Gray
Senior Product Marketing Manager, Email
Written by
Django Beek
Solutions Engineer
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09
Oct 2024

Recently, Darktrace ran a customer trial of our email security product for a leading European infrastructure operator looking to upgrade its email protection.

During this prospective customer trial, Darktrace encountered several security incidents that penetrated existing security layers. Two of these incidents were Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, which we’re going to take a closer look at here.  

Darktrace was deployed for a trial at the same time as two other email security vendors, who were also being evaluated by the prospective customer. Darktrace’s superior detection of threats in this trial laid the groundwork for the respective company to choose our product.

Let’s dig into some of the elements of this Darktrace tech win and how they came to light during this trial.

Why truly intelligent AI starts learning from scratch

Darktrace’s detection capabilities are powered by true unsupervised machine learning, which detects anomalous activity from its ever-evolving understanding of normal for every unique environment. Consequently, it learns every business from the beginning, training on an organization’s data to understand normal for its users, devices, assets and the millions of connections between them.  

This learning period takes around a week, during which the AI hones its understanding of the business to a precise degree. At this stage, the system may produce some noise or lack precision, but this is a testament to our unsupervised machine learning. Unlike solutions that promise faster results by relying on preset assumptions, our AI takes the necessary time to learn from scratch, ensuring a deeper understanding and increasingly accurate detection over time.

Real threats detected by Darktrace

Attack 1: Supply chain attack

BEC and supply chain attacks are notoriously difficult to detect, as they take advantage of established, trusted senders.  

This attack came from a legitimate server via a known supplier with which the prospective customer had active and ongoing communication. Using the compromised account, the attacker didn’t just send out randomized spam, they crafted four sophisticated social engineering emails with the aim of soliciting users to click on a link – directly tapping into existing conversations. Darktrace / EMAIL was configured in passive mode during this trial; it would otherwise have held the emails before they arrived in the inbox. Luckily in this instance, one user reported the email to the CISO before any other users clicked the link. Upon investigation, the link contained timed ransomware detonation.  

Darktrace was the only vendor that caught any of these four emails. Our unique behavioral AI approach enables Darktrace / EMAIL to protect customers from even the most sophisticated attacks that abuse prior trust and relationships.

How did Darktrace catch this attack that other vendors missed?

With traditional email security, security teams have been obliged to allow entire organizations to eliminate false positives – on the premise that it’s easier to make a broad decision based on an entire known domain and assume that potential risk of a supply chain attack.

By contrast, Darktrace adopts a zero trust mentality, analyzing every email to understand whether communication that has previously been safe remains safe. That’s why Darktrace is uniquely positioned to detect BEC, based on its deep learning of internal and external users. Because it creates individual profiles for every account, group and business composed of multiple signals, it can detect deviations in their communication patterns based on the context and content of each message. We think of this as the ‘self-learning’ vs ‘learning the breach’ differentiator.

Fig 1: Darktrace analysis of one of four malicious emails sent by the trusted supplier. It gives it an anomaly score of 100, despite it being from a known correspondent with a known domain relationship and moderate mailing history.

If set in autonomous mode where it can apply actions, Darktrace / EMAIL would have quarantined all four emails. Using machine learning indicators such as ‘Inducement Shift’ and ‘General Behavioral Anomaly’, it deemed the four emails ‘Out of Character’. It also identified the link as highly likely to be phishing, based purely on its context. These indicators are critical because the link itself belonged to a widely used legitimate domain, leveraging their established internet reputation to appear safe.  

Around an hour later the supplier regained control of the account and sent a legitimate email alerting a wide distribution list to the phishing emails sent. Darktrace was able to discern the previously sent malicious emails from the current legitimate emails and allowed these emails through. Compared to other vendors that have a static understanding of malicious which needs to be updated (in cases like this, once a supplier is de-compromised), Darktrace’s deep understanding of external entities enables further nuance and precision in determining good from bad.

Fig 2: Darktrace let through four emails (subject line: Virus E-Mail) from the supplier once they had regained control of the compromised account, with a limited anomaly score despite having held the previous malicious emails. If any actions had been taken a red icon would show on the right-hand side – in this instance Darktrace did not take action and let the emails through.

Attack 2: Microsoft 365 account takeover

As part of building behavioral profiles of every email user, Darktrace analyzes their wider account activity. Account activity, such as unusual login patterns and administrative activity, is a key variable to detect account compromise before malicious activity occurs, but it also feeds into Darktrace’s understanding of which emails should belong in every user’s inbox.  

When the customer experienced an account compromise on day two of the trial, Darktrace began an investigation and was able to provide the full breakdown and scope of the incident.

The account was compromised via an email, which Darktrace would have blocked if it had been deployed autonomously at the time. Once the account had been compromised, detection details included:

  • Unusual Login and Account Update
  • Multiple Unusual External Sources for SaaS Credential
  • Unusual Activity Block
  • Login From Rare Endpoint While User is Active
Fig 3: Darktrace flagged the following indicators of compromise that deviated from normal behavior for the user in question, signaling an account takeover

With Darktrace / EMAIL, every user is analyzed for behavioral signals including authentication and configuration activity. Here the unusual login, credential input and rare endpoint were all clear signals a compromised account, contextualized against what is normal for that employee. Because Darktrace isn’t looking at email security merely from the perspective of the inbox. It constantly reevaluates the identity of each individual, group and organization (as defined by their behavioral signals), to determine precisely what belongs in the inbox and what doesn’t.  

In this instance, Darktrace / EMAIL would have blocked the incident were it not deployed in passive mode. In the initial intrusion it would have blocked the compromising email. And once the account was compromised, it would have taken direct blocking actions on the account based on the anomalous activity it detected, providing an extra layer of defense beyond the inbox.  

Account takeover protection is always part of Darktrace / EMAIL, which can be extended to fully cover Microsoft 365 SaaS with Darktrace / IDENTITY. By bringing SaaS activity into scope, security teams also benefit from an extended set of use cases including compliance and resource management.

Why this customer committed to Darktrace / EMAIL

“Darktrace was the only AI vendor that showed learning,” – CISO, Trial Customer

Throughout this trial, Darktrace evolved its understanding of the trial customer’s business and its email users. It identified attacks that other vendors did not, while allowing safe emails through. Furthermore, the CISO explicitly cited Darktrace as the only technology that demonstrated autonomous learning. As well as catching threats that other vendors did not, the CISO saw maturity areas such as how Darktrace dealt with non-productive mail and business-as-usual emails, without any user input.  Because of the nature of unsupervised ML, Darktrace’s learning of right and wrong will never be static or complete – it will continue to revise its understanding and adapt to the changing business and communications landscape.

This case study highlights a key tenet of Darktrace’s philosophy – that a rules and tuning-based approach will always be one step behind. Delivering benign emails while holding back malicious emails from the same domain demonstrates that safety is not defined in a straight line, or by historical precedent. Only by analyzing every email in-depth for its content and context can you guarantee that it belongs.  

While other solutions are making efforts to improve a static approach with AI, Darktrace’s AI remains truly unsupervised so it is dynamic enough to catch the most agile and evolving threats. This is what allows us to protect our customers by plugging a vital gap in their security stack that ensures they can meet the challenges of tomorrow's email attacks.

Interested in learning more about Darktrace / EMAIL? Check out our product hub.

Download: Darktrace / EMAIL Solution Brief

Discover the most advanced cloud-native AI email security solution to protect your domain and brand while preventing phishing, novel social engineering, business email compromise, account takeover, and data loss.

  • Gain up to 13 days of earlier threat detection and maximize ROI on your current email security
  • Experience 20-25% more threat blocking power with Darktrace / EMAIL
  • Stop the 58% of threats bypassing traditional email security

Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Carlos Gray
Senior Product Marketing Manager, Email
Written by
Django Beek
Solutions Engineer

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July 21, 2025

Global Telecom Provider: Powering and Protecting the World's Data Giants

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This global leader plays a critical role in keeping the world connected. The company works with some of the largest and most influential public and private organizations in the world to enable ultra-fast data transmission.

Safeguarding the systems that keep the world connected

Standing at the forefront of global connectivity, this industry leader designs and manages large-scale communications systems that power the world’s most data-intensive enterprises – including social media giants, hyperscale cloud providers, and major data center operators. Given the scale, confidentiality, and sensitivity of the systems and data it helps transport, the company faces complex cybersecurity challenges.

Protecting sensitive customer data

Most of the organization’s projects are custom-designed and highly proprietary, making data privacy and Intellectual Property (IP) protection critical to maintaining trust and confidentiality with customers. In an industry where every competitor knows the landscape intimately, any loss of data could cause significant damage.

International security implications

The company faces a broad range of advanced cyber threats – from corporate espionage and supply chain risks to cyber-physical attacks on critical infrastructure. Its international footprint adds complexity, including cross-border regulatory compliance. A successful attack could disrupt business, compromise IP, or trigger wider consequences like disruptions to international data transfers and other critical services.

The global leader works closely with communities to anticipate threats that could impact the global communications network at large.

In this environment, cybersecurity is a foundation for international trust,” said the organization’s CISO.

Building a resilient cybersecurity strategy from the ground up

The CISO had the rare opportunity to build the IT and cybersecurity infrastructure from scratch. "Initially, we bought what everyone else buys,” referencing the traditional mix of firewalls, routers, and antivirus tools. “But I knew we needed to do more.”

Self-Learning AI – “the missing piece”

With solid perimeter defenses in place, the security team sought deeper protection inside the network. Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI stood out. “Unlike other solutions, Darktrace’s AI looks beyond known threat signatures, learning what’s normal for our environment and flagging what’s not. That was the missing piece – something that could help us even when everything else failed.”

A solution and partnership that delivered

The CISO said he appreciated the ability to observe Darktrace in action before full deployment, noting that the Darktrace team was there every step of the way, providing guidance and expertise to ensure he got the most out of his investment.

Partnership was especially valuable given the company’s explosive 400% growth over the last six years. As resources were stretched and priorities shifted, “Darktrace remained patient and responsive. We’re slow and methodical, but the Darktrace support team was phenomenal, never losing momentum and earning our trust.”

A unified cybersecurity ecosystem

Today, the global leader is using the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform™ as a core part of its layered defense strategy, including:

The CISO appreciates how, as a unified cybersecurity platform, Darktrace has an intuitive user interface, which makes it easier for his team to investigate alerts visually, even without deep technical expertise.

Advancing defenses while impacting the bottom line

A 24/7 “safety net”

The fact that this company has never been hacked is the clearest proof it made the right decision with Darktrace, said the CISO. Initially rolled out in Human Confirmation Mode, meaning it would not take autonomous action without explicit approval from the security team, Darktrace immediately uncovered threats and anomalies that other tools had missed.

Darktrace acts as a must-have safety net—ready to step in when other tools fall short,” said the CISO.

From monitoring internal behavior and identifying unusual attack patterns, to autonomously neutralizing threats after hours, the platform provides peace of mind in a high-stakes industry. “Darktrace is my dark horse – the thing I have in my back pocket if everything else fails. It’s here to save the day, save my company, and maybe even save my career.”

Autonomous capabilities free up time for skilled analysts

Darktrace’s AI-powered detection and response capabilities are deeply embedded in the team’s day-to-day operations, autonomously investigating and responding to the majority of potential threats. Cyber AI Analyst conducted a total of 2,776 total investigations within three months, averaging just 12 minutes to autonomously investigate an incident. Of those 2,776 investigations, Darktrace resolved 2,671 (96%) autonomously and escalated only 105 (4%) to analysts. Darktrace has dramatically reduced alert fatigue and freed up analysts to focus on what really matters, saving the security team 486 analyst hours on investigations within a 20-day period.

From noise to actionable insight

Darktrace delivers meaningful data and meaningful alerts. “If Darktrace escalates an incident, we drop everything and work on that. We trust in Darktrace.” When analysts do need to investigate an incident, Darktrace’s forensic logs and guided remediation suggestions have slashed the time analysts spend on investigations by four to five times.

Stronger security. Lower cost.

The CISO says, “Darktrace is a money-saver for our organization, making continued investments an easy sell to the CEO and the board.”  When he found himself down a resource after a member of the security team left the organization, the CISO turned to Darktrace Managed Threat Detection and Response services for 24/7 expert support. “It was a no brainer. We got better coverage, higher skill levels, and around-the-clock support – all for less than what we would pay to employ a single analyst.”

Scaling securely into the future

Securing networks in motion  

The organization is preparing to scale both its operations and security posture across existing distributed, mobile and deployable communications networks that historically have been disconnected. Some of these networks are in constant motion and operating in some of the world’s most volatile regions. “Darktrace will act as an autonomous defender, monitoring for anomalous behavior and intervening, when necessary, especially during those dangerous times when an asset ‘goes dark’ and becomes disconnected from the broader network,” said the CISO.

Applying AI strategically

As the organization continues to evaluate where and how to apply AI, its emphasis will be on technologies that can act independently to contain threats – especially in environments where human response may be delayed. “It’s about using the right kind of AI for the right challenge. That’s why we’re investing in Darktrace, with tools that can adapt and learn even in isolation and provide real-time protection wherever we operate.”

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July 17, 2025

Introducing the AI Maturity Model for Cybersecurity

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AI adoption in cybersecurity: Beyond the hype

Security operations today face a paradox. On one hand, artificial intelligence (AI) promises sweeping transformation from automating routine tasks to augmenting threat detection and response. On the other hand, security leaders are under immense pressure to separate meaningful innovation from vendor hype.

To help CISOs and security teams navigate this landscape, we’ve developed the most in-depth and actionable AI Maturity Model in the industry. Built in collaboration with AI and cybersecurity experts, this framework provides a structured path to understanding, measuring, and advancing AI adoption across the security lifecycle.

Overview of AI maturity levels in cybersecurity

Why a maturity model? And why now?

In our conversations and research with security leaders, a recurring theme has emerged:

There’s no shortage of AI solutions, but there is a shortage of clarity and understanding of AI uses cases.

In fact, Gartner estimates that “by 2027, over 40% of Agentic AI projects will be canceled due to escalating costs, unclear business value, or inadequate risk controls. Teams are experimenting, but many aren’t seeing meaningful outcomes. The need for a standardized way to evaluate progress and make informed investments has never been greater.

That’s why we created the AI Security Maturity Model, a strategic framework that:

  • Defines five clear levels of AI maturity, from manual processes (L0) to full AI Delegation (L4)
  • Delineating the outcomes derived between Agentic GenAI and Specialized AI Agent Systems
  • Applies across core functions such as risk management, threat detection, alert triage, and incident response
  • Links AI maturity to real-world outcomes like reduced risk, improved efficiency, and scalable operations

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How is maturity assessed in this model?

The AI Maturity Model for Cybersecurity is grounded in operational insights from nearly 10,000 global deployments of Darktrace's Self-Learning AI and Cyber AI Analyst. Rather than relying on abstract theory or vendor benchmarks, the model reflects what security teams are actually doing, where AI is being adopted, how it's being used, and what outcomes it’s delivering.

This real-world foundation allows the model to offer a practical, experience-based view of AI maturity. It helps teams assess their current state and identify realistic next steps based on how organizations like theirs are evolving.

Why Darktrace?

AI has been central to Darktrace’s mission since its inception in 2013, not just as a feature, but the foundation. With over a decade of experience building and deploying AI in real-world security environments, we’ve learned where it works, where it doesn’t, and how to get the most value from it. This model reflects that insight, helping security leaders find the right path forward for their people, processes, and tools

Security teams today are asking big, important questions:

  • What should we actually use AI for?
  • How are other teams using it — and what’s working?
  • What are vendors offering, and what’s just hype?
  • Will AI ever replace people in the SOC?

These questions are valid, and they’re not always easy to answer. That’s why we created this model: to help security leaders move past buzzwords and build a clear, realistic plan for applying AI across the SOC.

The structure: From experimentation to autonomy

The model outlines five levels of maturity :

L0 – Manual Operations: Processes are mostly manual with limited automation of some tasks.

L1 – Automation Rules: Manually maintained or externally-sourced automation rules and logic are used wherever possible.

L2 – AI Assistance: AI assists research but is not trusted to make good decisions. This includes GenAI agents requiring manual oversight for errors.

L3 – AI Collaboration: Specialized cybersecurity AI agent systems  with business technology context are trusted with specific tasks and decisions. GenAI has limited uses where errors are acceptable.

L4 – AI Delegation: Specialized AI agent systems with far wider business operations and impact context perform most cybersecurity tasks and decisions independently, with only high-level oversight needed.

Each level reflects a shift, not only in technology, but in people and processes. As AI matures, analysts evolve from executors to strategic overseers.

Strategic benefits for security leaders

The maturity model isn’t just about technology adoption it’s about aligning AI investments with measurable operational outcomes. Here’s what it enables:

SOC fatigue is real, and AI can help

Most teams still struggle with alert volume, investigation delays, and reactive processes. AI adoption is inconsistent and often siloed. When integrated well, AI can make a meaningful difference in making security teams more effective

GenAI is error prone, requiring strong human oversight

While there is a lot of hype around GenAI agentic systems, teams will need to account for inaccuracy and hallucination in Agentic GenAI systems.

AI’s real value lies in progression

The biggest gains don’t come from isolated use cases, but from integrating AI across the lifecycle, from preparation through detection to containment and recovery.

Trust and oversight are key initially but evolves in later levels

Early-stage adoption keeps humans fully in control. By L3 and L4, AI systems act independently within defined bounds, freeing humans for strategic oversight.

People’s roles shift meaningfully

As AI matures, analyst roles consolidate and elevate from labor intensive task execution to high-value decision-making, focusing on critical, high business impact activities, improving processes and AI governance.

Outcome, not hype, defines maturity

AI maturity isn’t about tech presence, it’s about measurable impact on risk reduction, response time, and operational resilience.

[related-resource]

Outcomes across the AI Security Maturity Model

The Security Organization experiences an evolution of cybersecurity outcomes as teams progress from manual operations to AI delegation. Each level represents a step-change in efficiency, accuracy, and strategic value.

L0 – Manual Operations

At this stage, analysts manually handle triage, investigation, patching, and reporting manually using basic, non-automated tools. The result is reactive, labor-intensive operations where most alerts go uninvestigated and risk management remains inconsistent.

L1 – Automation Rules

At this stage, analysts manage rule-based automation tools like SOAR and XDR, which offer some efficiency gains but still require constant tuning. Operations remain constrained by human bandwidth and predefined workflows.

L2 – AI Assistance

At this stage, AI assists with research, summarization, and triage, reducing analyst workload but requiring close oversight due to potential errors. Detection improves, but trust in autonomous decision-making remains limited.

L3 – AI Collaboration

At this stage, AI performs full investigations and recommends actions, while analysts focus on high-risk decisions and refining detection strategies. Purpose-built agentic AI systems with business context are trusted with specific tasks, improving precision and prioritization.

L4 – AI Delegation

At this stage, Specialized AI Agent Systems performs most security tasks independently at machine speed, while human teams provide high-level strategic oversight. This means the highest time and effort commitment activities by the human security team is focused on proactive activities while AI handles routine cybersecurity tasks

Specialized AI Agent Systems operate with deep business context including impact context to drive fast, effective decisions.

Join the webinar

Get a look at the minds shaping this model by joining our upcoming webinar using this link. We’ll walk through real use cases, share lessons learned from the field, and show how security teams are navigating the path to operational AI safely, strategically, and successfully.

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About the author
Ashanka Iddya
Senior Director, Product Marketing
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