When a Hong Kong-based finance employee<\/a> of a multinational company received an email from the company\u2019s CFO in the U.K. about a secret business deal, the employee was immediately on alert. It didn\u2019t feel right.<\/p>\n Many of U.S. have been in a similar position where we receive a fishy email that doesn\u2019t sit well. However, the employee\u2019s fears were allayed when he joined a video call with the CFO and other corporate executives. He was let in on the confidential business deal and began following orders to transfer funds to various bank accounts.<\/p>\n All was well \u2014 except it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n The \u201cexecutives\u201d the employee had seen in the video conference call were deepfakes, or AI-generated synthetic media. When they\u2019re high-quality, as in this instance, they can be so realistic that they\u2019re hard to discern as fake. The cybercriminals ended up scamming $25 million from the company.<\/strong><\/p>\n This example is one of many that have raised global concerns about deepfake technology and its malicious use in society. How prevalent are they, and what can business leaders do to reduce the risk of a deepfake scam?<\/p>\n To understand what deepfakes are capable of, it\u2019s important to have an understanding of various types of deepfakes and their purpose, including:<\/p>\n The level of sophistication and potential for misuse varies, but each is potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n The threat to businesses posed by deepfakes is more substantial than most people think.\u202f\u201cIn fact, two out of three cyber security professionals saw malicious deepfakes used as part of a strike against businesses in 2022, a 13 percent increase from the previous year, with email as the top delivery method,\u201d according to a recent issue<\/a> of Bank of America\u2019s Cyber Security Journal. The attacks impacting businesses or operations are as diverse as the types of deepfakes themselves.<\/strong> Some of the deepfakes business leaders should be aware of include:<\/p>\n Deepfake attacks can be difficult to distinguish and lead to repercussions like financial fraud, loss of customers and revenue, reputational damage, legal liabilities, costly crisis control measures and more. Today, companies are exploring how to identify and combat deepfakes using a variety of technologies, from watermarks to tracking signals and other forms of authentication that validate original content.<\/strong> However, it\u2019s important to note that some approaches, like watermarks, are susceptible to being faked themselves, and others have yet to achieve the level of accuracy necessary to fully allay fears stemming from potential hacking incidents.<\/p>\n Minimizing risks associated with malicious deepfakes will require a multilayered technical, operational and regulatory approach. Like with all evolving technology, there\u2019s potential for misuse, and new approaches both in creating and combating the misuse of the technology will also continue to evolve.<\/strong> Like an arms race, deepfakes and deepfake prevention build on one another. That’s why leaders must remain vigilant and invest in one or more measures outlined below:<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that legislation will be critical. Some states have introduced or passed legislation related to deepfakes<\/a>, but while we wait for federal laws to be enacted, the onus of protecting businesses will be on company leaders and how well they prepare their organizations for a deepfake attack.<\/p>\nTypes Of Deepfakes<\/h2>\n
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How Big Is The Threat To Businesses?<\/h2>\n
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Get Proactive About Deepfake Threats<\/h2>\n
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