Jason Crawforth is the Founder and CEO of Swear.com, a company working to restore confidence in digital media authenticity.
Technological advancements are rapidly reshaping our world at a pace most of us are still grasping. With the flywheel of tech has come the rise of deepfakes, presenting a challenge to society, including businesses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned in a recent report that “deepfakes and the misuse of synthetic content pose a clear, present, and evolving threat to the public across national security, law enforcement, financial, and societal domains.” For companies, the consequences of deepfakes are far-reaching and alarming, demanding our urgent attention and proactive measures.
The Rise Of Cybercrime
Deepfakes have become a wicked weapon in cybercriminals’ toolboxes, with user-friendly face-swapping tools leading to a staggering 704% increase in face-swap attacks in the second half of 2023 alone. Fraudsters exploit deepfake technology to impersonate CEOs and other high-ranking officials, tricking employees into authorizing fraudulent transactions or divulging sensitive information. Earlier this year, a finance worker at a multinational firm fell victim to a sophisticated deepfake scam, resulting in the fraudulent payment of $25 million.
As these sophisticated digital manipulations become increasingly accessible, their potential for misuse grows exponentially. The FBI warned that cybercriminals were using deepfakes in job interviews for remote tech positions to impersonate real applicants. The deepfakes were used to pass the initial screening, enabling fraudsters to gain access to sensitive customer and company data. These sophisticated social engineering attacks leave businesses scrambling to reinforce their cybersecurity defenses.
Shane Tews from the American Enterprise Institute reported in April 2024 that this year, there have been “880 million cybercrime complaints resulting in over $12 billion in losses.” These include ransomware attacks, identity theft, phishing, DDoS attacks and data breaches, just to name a few of the methods bad actors use to target businesses. Generative AI is opening up more tools for those bad actors to use, increasing the frequency and severity.
Another example involved a European energy firm. Hackers used deepfake audio to impersonate the CEO, persuading a senior manager to transfer over $240,000 to a fraudulent account. These types of attacks leave businesses racing to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses and make many of our existing tactics outdated.
Technological Solutions
A multifaceted approach is essential to navigate these challenges and safeguard our businesses. Detection remains important, and tech giants have stepped up to the plate. In 2019, Google released an open-source deepfake database to facilitate the development of more effective detection algorithms, and in 2021, Adobe introduced “Content Credentials” to help identify the origin of edited images. Microsoft’s collaboration with Amazon, Facebook and several universities resulted in the Deepfake Detection Challenge, stimulating innovation in identifying manipulated media. And in 2020, in preparation for the presidential election, Microsoft introduced software that analyzes photos and videos to provide a confidence score indicating the likelihood of artificial manipulation.
Collaboration
However, detection alone isn’t enough. Proactive technologies that verify the authenticity of digital media and establish provenance become critical to creating a foundation of truth. Collaborative efforts between governments, technology companies and civil society organizations are imperative in developing robust legal frameworks, holding perpetrators accountable and investing in research and development to improve deepfake detection algorithms and tools.
We’ve seen Congress take steps with the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act and Senator Durbin’s DEFIANCE Act. Additionally, investing in research and development to improve deepfake detection algorithms and tools will help in more effectively identifying and flagging manipulated content.
To explore collaboration opportunities, contact organizations like the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) or the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). Businesses should also look to government partners like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which has a cybersecurity framework to help reduce risk, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has assets and free resources to help small businesses protect themselves against cyberattacks.
We’re working closely with one of the leading researchers in blockchain, Dr. Gaby Dagher, who runs the Information Security, Privacy & Mining Lab at Boise State University, to further study the intersection of digital media and distributed ledgers to validate our concept from a blockchain perspective. He’s one of the leading academics working on blockchain and protecting digital media using blockchain technologies and also serves on SWEAR’s Advisory Board.
Education
Technological solutions must be accompanied by education. Equipping individuals with the skills to critically evaluate the authenticity of information is essential in mitigating the impact of deepfake-driven misinformation.
Businesses of all sizes need to have comprehensive training programs for employees to recognize and respond to deepfake threats. You should host regular workshops and meetings to keep staff updated on the latest deepfake technology developments and ensure they’re actively using cybersecurity measures. There are also free resources with training videos and materials from agencies like the FTC to help bolster the human element of cybersecurity.
The rise of deepfakes demands our attention. By embracing innovative authentication technologies, collaborating with other stakeholders and promoting education, we can fortify our defenses against deepfakes. The stakes are high, but we can navigate the threats posed by digital manipulation and emerge better equipped to face the challenges of the digital age.
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