“Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. has joined the board of Aura, a Boston-based cybersecurity firm, to help raise awareness of online crime, the company announced Thursday.
Headquartered in the Seaport District, the startup brought Downey onboard as a strategist and brand advocate ahead of this year’s South by Southwest conference, where he will speak at a session titled “Online Crime: An American Crisis” on Saturday, Aura said in a statement.
The company, founded by CEO Hari Ravichandran, aims to safeguard customers’ digital security, from credit monitoring to password management and fraud protection.
“Honestly, the exponential growth of online crime, just in the last several years, is truly terrifying,” the “Avengers” star said in the statement. “It requires an innovative solution to protect our families, which is why I’m joining Hari and his team at Aura to tackle the crisis head-on.”
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Downey stars in an Aura promotional video released Thursday where he auditions to be Aura’s “online safety spokesperson,” answering a casting call for a “Robert Downey Jr. type.”
In the commercial, Downey, garbed in a suit and sneakers, answers rapid-fire questions from casting directors about cybersecurity.
“How often does someone have their identity stolen?” one casting director asks.
“Every six seconds,” Downey answers, without missing a beat.
He later explains he wants to be a part of the solution to the “grave threat” of online security, calling it the “role of a lifetime.”
Aura also announced the launch of a “family-focused user experience” within its online safety app, including features that allow users to securely share files and passwords, as well as fraud and identity alerts, with family members, the statement said.
Downey co-stars alongside Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Cillian Murphy in the Christopher Nolan film “Oppenheimer,“ scheduled for release on July 21.
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Bailey Allen can be reached at bailey.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @baileyaallen.