ISLAMABAD: Kaspersky’s research has uncovered the presence of deepfake creation tools and services on darknet marketplaces, offering generative AI video creation for malicious purposes such as fraud, blackmail, and data theft.
According to the press release issued by Kaspersky, the estimated cost for one minute of a deepfake video can be as low as $300, according to Kaspersky experts. The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies has empowered threat actors with advanced tools, including deepfakes, which involve the creation of realistic audio, photo, and video replicas of individuals. Kaspersky warns that deepfakes are likely to become a more significant threat in the future, posing risks to both companies and consumers.
According to the recent Kaspersky Business Digitization Survey, while 51% of employees in the META region claim they can differentiate between a deepfake and a real image, only 25% were able to do so in a test scenario. This knowledge gap exposes organizations to heightened vulnerability, especially considering that employees are often primary targets of social engineering attacks like phishing.
For instance, cybercriminals could create a fake video of a CEO authorizing a fraudulent transaction, leading to financial losses for the company. Additionally, individuals’ compromised videos or images could be exploited for extortion or information theft.
Hafeez Rehman, Technical Group Manager at Kaspersky, emphasizes that while the technology for creating high-quality deepfakes isn’t widely available yet, real-time voice generation to impersonate someone is a likely future use case. He underscores that deepfakes not only threaten businesses but also individual users, spreading misinformation, facilitating scams, and unauthorized impersonation.
Kaspersky recommends individuals and businesses familiarize themselves with the key characteristics of deepfake videos and utilize solutions like Kaspersky Threat Intelligence to stay updated on the latest developments in deepfake technology. Moreover, companies should enhance their human firewall by educating employees to recognize and respond appropriately to potential deepfake threats.
