2020 is already shaping up to be the biggest year for fake news and fake media. While this doesn’t come as a surprise to most people, what is interesting are the ways in which it’s use is maturing and new ways in which fake media is being weaponized. Let’s take a look at some interesting predictions:
Forbes
Forbes enlisted 141 cyber security pros to outline each of their individual predictions. These predictions included:
- Using deep-fakes for corporate phishing attacks (Okta)
- Deepfakes-as-a-Service for both “fun and malicious reasons” (Forcepoint)
- Deepfakes to influence the Presidential Election (Betanetworks Ventures)
- Voice phishing schemes designed to impersonate an executive to trick employees into sending money or sensitive information to the attacker (Armis)
- “Synthetic identities” will continue to grow in popularity through the use of deepfakes to spawn further identity fraud and fake data records. This will impact “traditional identity verification solutions” require organizations to invest in more modern and sophisticated solutions to deal with the threat (Mitek)
- Nation states will use fake news and disinformation to spread havoc (Radware)
- As deep fake techniques improve, “cryptographic signatures will be an important tool to push back against fraudsters and fakers.” (Keybase)
CNBC
CNBC predicts that AI and spread of disinformation are the top 2 threats for 2020, heightened by the fact that 2020 is a U.S. Presidential Election year. Not only is it believe that this will be a big year for disinformation, but it will also spread beyond the media and enter into the corporate world like we’ve seein with employees tricketed into wiring money to scammers. It’s also believed that deep fake technology will be used to impersonate leaders in organizations, spread disinformation, and create ransom demands. And furthermore, fake media will be used by nation states to trigger conflicts between countries who believe the intelligence to be real.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/18/automated-hacking-deepfakes-top-cybersecurity-threats-in-2020.html
Security Boulevard
Despite Facebook’s 2020 announcement to ban deep fakes, “deep fakes are currently outpacing our ability to identify and address them,” according to Security Boulevard. They also predict tools that will allow journalists and other organizations to upload videos to see if they are deep fakes or check audio request sent to to the finance department for validity. Rank: #1 on the list.
Clearly this is a year of growing concern and threats from fake media. Not only that, but the threats impact ALL of us. Influences by nation states to prompt conflict between countries put all of us at risk. Additionally, while the focus has been on the U.S. Presidential Election, we’ve seen elections in other countries impacted by fake news, a truly systemic problem. And let’s not forget the corporate world; impersonators and fake news have impacted high profile individuals causing stock price fluctuations through disinformation, and this will only continue with the spread of tools for dispersing fake media.
As the year continues, we’ll continue to monitor the morphing effects of fake media and disinformation to enlighten readers about these risks, and provide tools and insights into uncovering these threats.