What is Deepfake, Its Losses, and How to Secure Data from Deepfake Attacks

Cyberattacks enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) continue to occur and are even becoming more sophisticated. According to McKinsey data from 2022, losses due to cybercrime are estimated to reach USD 5 trillion by 2024. Among these losses, fraud or false identity manipulation using deepfake technology is one of the serious concerns.

What is deepfake? How does the threat of deepfake affect businesses? Let's dive into the following article!

Understanding Deepfake

Deepfake refers to fake photos, videos, and audio that are generated from their original sources using artificial intelligence (AI). The content produced through deepfake appears realistic and similar to the original source.

Initially, this technology was widely used in the entertainment industry. For example, editing a person's singing voice, superimposing our face onto someone else's body, or editing videos of famous individuals to make them say something humorous. According to the Home Security Heroes Report, the presence of deepfake videos has increased by more than 550% since 2019. With the advancement of technology, these deepfake videos are becoming increasingly difficult to detect.

Fraud Using Deepfake

Unfortunately, deepfake is now being used for fraudulent activities that financially harm individuals and companies, amounting to billions of rupiah. Recently, in Hong Kong, an employee was defrauded of 400 billion rupiah by receiving a video call from a scammer impersonating their boss. This impersonation was done using deepfake by creating fake content in the form of a video of the boss.

According to reports, 2 out of 3 cybersecurity experts found deepfake being used for attacks on businesses in 2022, an increase of 13% from the previous year. The most commonly used platform for spreading deepfake scams is through email.

This type of fraud is expected to proliferate further with the sophistication of deepfake technology and its ease of access.

5 Impacts of Deepfake Crimes on Businesses:

 Fraud always leads to financial losses, especially biometric fraud. In e-commerce or fintech companies, biometrics are usually used for transactions. Therefore, when biometrics can be counterfeited using deepfake, fraudsters can access transactions and cause financial losses.

User data breaches indicate that companies cannot protect user rights effectively. This affects the company's reputation, which is something built in the long term with various business aspects. Thus, reputation damage will have a significant impact on the company's performance.

Company reputation is also related to stock prices. Stocks, as indicators of a company's health, are highly dynamic regarding everything that happens within the company. Investor confidence will be disrupted if the company incurs losses due to poor data security systems.

Consequently, companies must change their policy direction. These decisions include changes in investments, strategies, and human resources. As a result, the company experiences instability for a certain period, leading to disrupted business activities.

Policy direction also involves costs. Costs to tackle identity fraud include investigation costs, compensation for consumers, system repair costs, and reputation damage mitigation costs. The company's budget needs to be re-evaluated, requiring considerable time and effort.

Securing Data from Deepfake-Based Fraud

Facing the threat of deepfake requires a comprehensive strategy that includes the latest cybersecurity technology, employee education, and robust information governance policies. It is also important for companies to collaborate with authorities and other organizations to strengthen defenses against information manipulation.

Companies can also invest in passive liveness detection, which is currently widely sought after to strengthen identity verification security. As part of data protection solutions, VIDA offers the latest technology development, namely VIDA Deepfake Shield. In this regard, VIDA has been reinforced with the ability to control the entire process towards biometric system access, so that any fraud loophole can be quickly prevented. In the face of evolving cyberattacks, adopting solutions like VIDA Deepfake Shield is no longer an option but a necessity.