Deepfake Defense: Building a Cyber-Ready Workforce in the Age of GenAI

Deepfakes Are Here and They're Changing the Cyber Game

Generative AI (GenAI) is a game-changer and it’s opening up endless possibilities across industries. But it's also throwing a wrench into the cybersecurity field. GenAI can be used to boost security in some ways, but in other ways, it's ramping up risks across organizations. That means it’s time to rethink security strategy to address and account for that increased risk, with the goal of boosting cyber resilience.

Deepfakes are one of the biggest GenAI-driven challenges when it comes to security because they are becoming shockingly realistic. Deepfakes are like a modern-day Trojan horse, deceptive and capable of slipping past our defenses by exploiting our trust and they represent a fundamental disruption in our perception of reality.

In my recent discussion with John Blythe, Director of Cyber Psychology at Immersive, we covered the rise of deepfakes and how to defend against them in the webinar Deepfake Defense: Building a Cyber-Ready Workforce in the Age of GenAI. We discussed the significant threat deepfakes pose, why traditional security strategies and tactics are no longer enough to keep organizations safe, and why prioritizing a cyber-fluent workforce is crucial to defending against deepfakes and other GenAI-driven threats.

The Evolving Psychological Profile of Cyberattacks

It's important to understand how cyberattacks are changing. Attackers are increasingly targeting human vulnerabilities. In fact, a significant percentage of successful cyberattacks (around 70%) exploit the human element, a number that has remained fairly consistent over the past decade. Social engineering is a major threat because it's often easier to manipulate people into giving up sensitive information than it is to directly attack computer systems.  

Deepfakes are basically social engineering on steroids. Traditional methods rely on things like straightforward phishing emails, but deepfakes take it to a whole new level by adding hyper-realistic video and audio. This makes the deception way harder to spot and therefore, much more effective. It's a challenge for both attackers, who need to refine their tactics, and organizations, which need to level up their defenses.  

Real-World Deepfake Scenarios

These attacks can have very real consequences. There was a recent case involving a $25 million fraudulent transfer orchestrated through the deepfake impersonation of a senior executive.

We've moved beyond isolated fraud incidents to a point where the authenticity of what we see and hear is constantly in question. Deepfakes can be used to spread disinformation, manipulate public opinion, and facilitate financial fraud. Organizations face increased risks to their bottom lines, damage to their reputation, and disruptions to their operations.  

The Psychology Behind Deepfake Deception

It's important to understand why deepfakes are so effective. They target some foundational elements of human psychology. We're wired to trust what we see and hear. Deepfakes exploit that trust and they also trigger our emotions to bypass our critical thinking. Feelings of fear, urgency, or excitement can cloud our judgment.  

This kind of attack can trigger our sense of urgency and respect for authority, making us less likely to question it. Deepfakes also play on our trust bias, as we naturally tend to believe what we see and hear with our own eyes and ears. Deepfakes can create a powerful illusion of reality, making it difficult to discern what's real and what’s not.  

What makes it even scarier is the scale at which these attacks can happen. Attackers can use automation to launch tons of personalized deepfakes, which can easily overwhelm our defenses. The sheer scale of these attacks, combined with automation, can exploit our cognitive overload, making it impossible to carefully examine every piece of information.  

In essence, enhanced personalization combined with overwhelming speed and automation, make deepfakes a potent threat.  

The Role of Technology: Large Language Models and AI-Powered Fraud

Technology is a big part of this problem. The rise of large language models (LLMs) has made it easier to create deepfakes. These models, which power many AI applications like chatbots or translation tools, can also be used to automate the deepfake creation process, making it faster and easier to generate convincing fakes.  

AI-powered fraud is a growing concern. AI can now generate super-realistic phishing emails and other social engineering content, which can be extremely difficult to detect, and it can be sent out on a massive scale.  

AI tools in the wrong hands can generate highly personalized and believable attacks, tricking people into giving up sensitive information or enabling attackers to infiltrate systems. While the future is uncertain, it's crucial to be vigilant and adapt our security strategies to keep pace with these evolving threats.  

The Target Shift: It's Not Just Execs Anymore

Initially, deepfake attacks often targeted high-profile people. But now, everyone's a potential target. The assumption that only executives are at risk is outdated, AI-driven social engineering attacks now target employees at all levels.  

Think about a deepfake voicemail from a "colleague" urgently needing login info, or a video call from a "vendor" wanting details on a sensitive project. These attacks exploit the trust and familiarity we have in our daily work environments.  

Employees in middle management are particularly vulnerable because they handle a lot of sensitive information but might not have the specialized security training to spot these threats. Blythe emphasizes that the increased personalization and automation enabled by AI allow attackers to exploit an organization's human element more effectively, across all levels of the organization.

Building Cyber Resilience: It's About People and Culture

To deal with this, organizations need to build cyber resilience. This isn't just about preventing attacks, it's about being able to handle them when they happen.  

It’s critical to move away from treating security as a "tick-box" exercise. It has to be a proactive conversation across the organization. Organizations need to create a culture of vigilance where people feel comfortable discussing uncertainties and have trust in their security teams.  

Minimizing data exposure and verifying content sources are crucial, but continuous training and exercising are just as critical, as attack methods evolve and AI-driven manipulations become more sophisticated.  

Training and Awareness: Beyond the Basics

The key to deepfake defense lies in empowering people. Since deepfakes exploit human psychology, cybersecurity strategies must prioritize building a cyber-confident workforce. This involves training employees to spot emotional triggers and deceptive tactics, encouraging open communication about potential threats, and fostering a culture where everyone feels responsible for security. Ultimately, a well-informed and vigilant workforce is the strongest defense.

To learn more about how to protect your organization from the growing threat of deepfakes, view the full webinar recording here.

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