Barracuda named finalist for Best Use of AI in Cybersecurity

Recognition highlights Barracuda’s innovative use of AI to detect, explain, and stop evolving email threats

Key takeaways

• Barracuda has been named a finalist for Best Use of AI in Cybersecurity in the 2026 A.I. Awards.
• The recognition highlights Barracuda’s use of AI to protect organizations against phishing, business email compromise (BEC), account takeover, impersonation, and AI-assisted social engineering attacks.
• Barracuda combines behavioral AI, natural language processing, social graph analysis, and automated response to identify and remove threats that traditional defenses can miss.

We’re proud to announce that Barracuda has been named a finalist for Best Use of AI in Cybersecurity in the 2026 A.I. Awards. The international awards program recognizes organizations using AI to solve real-world challenges and deliver measurable outcomes.

For Barracuda, that means applying AI where it matters most: helping organizations stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated email attacks.

How does Barracuda use AI to stop modern email threats?

Email remains the primary entry point for cyberattacks, while attackers are increasingly using AI to make phishing, impersonation, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks more convincing and harder to detect. Traditional email security tools often make a single decision when a message arrives, even though risk can change after delivery.

Barracuda Integrated Email Protection takes a different approach.

Powered by Barracuda IQ™, our multi-model AI engine, the solution uses behavioral AI, natural language processing, social graph analysis, and real-time threat intelligence to evaluate not just what’s in a message, but its context, intent, relationships, and risk.

Just as importantly, protection doesn’t stop at delivery. Barracuda continuously reevaluates messages and rescans URLs as destinations and threat intelligence change. If a delivered email later becomes malicious, automated tenant-wide clawback finds and removes dangerous messages across the organization before more users are affected.

This continuous detect-reassess-explain-and-remediate model reflects an important shift in email security. Instead of simply filtering messages, it continuously analyzes changing risk and takes action when threats emerge.

Making AI actionable

Effective security isn’t just about identifying threats. It’s about helping organizations understand them and respond quickly.

That’s why Barracuda combines AI-powered detection with AI-powered explanation. Bailey™, Barracuda’s AI assistant, provides plain-language explanations of detections and response actions, helping administrators understand what happened, why action was taken, and what to do next.

The result is AI that doesn’t just generate alerts. It helps organizations reduce risk, streamline security operations, and respond faster to evolving threats.

Delivering real-world results

This recognition also reflects the measurable impact Barracuda delivers for customers.

For example, BNBuilders used Barracuda Email Protection to combat an AI-generated phishing campaign that escalated to thousands of malicious emails per day. Barracuda helped the organization detect and remove more than 12,000 malicious emails, including more than 5,000 during an active attack. The solution also helped identify and close a Microsoft 365 Direct Send loophole that attackers had used to bypass gateway defenses.

Beyond stopping the attack, BNBuilders reduced inbox clutter by 50%, eliminated manual email cleanup during active incidents, and consolidated six daily security workflows into a single interface.

Building AI that strengthens cyber resilience

Being named a finalist for Best Use of AI in Cybersecurity validates Barracuda’s commitment to building AI capabilities that help organizations reduce risk, simplify security operations, and strengthen resilience against evolving threats.

As attackers continue to evolve, Barracuda remains focused on helping customers and partners stay ahead with AI that continuously detects, explains, and removes threats while making security easier to manage.

The winners of the 2026 A.I. Awards will be announced on October 13. Until then, we’re honored to be recognized among this year’s finalists and excited to continue innovating on behalf of our customers and partners.

FAQ

What award is Barracuda a finalist for?
Barracuda is a finalist for Best Use of AI in Cybersecurity in the 2026 A.I. Awards.

What solution was recognized?
The recognition highlights Barracuda Integrated Email Protection and its use of AI to detect, explain, and remediate advanced email threats.

How does Barracuda use AI in email security?
Barracuda uses AI to analyze message behavior, language, trusted relationships, URLs, and risk signals before and after delivery so threats can be identified and removed faster.