Generative AI is unleashing a wave of novel threats, unheard of even just a few years ago. Increasingly, all of us are seeing things once considered science fiction become reality.
Because it can create new content by learning from existing data, Generative AI offers remarkable benefits—boosting productivity and creating realistic content instantly. Yet it also equips threat actors* with new tools for deception, manipulation and fraud.
AI-driven deception—from voice-cloned executives authorizing transfers to fabricated extortion videos—presents one of today’s most dangerous business threats. Internal issues like ungoverned AI tool use and Shadow IT further increase vulnerability to attacks and data leaks.
Planners and their clients should think about revamping authentication, employee training and digital risk monitoring to safeguard their operations. Confronting AI deception requires updated security, real-time intelligence and proactive verification strategies in to deal with an increasingly artificial world.
What is AI-Driven Deception?
AI-generated deception can take many forms:
- Deepfake videos and voice cloning: Threat actors can generate convincing audio or video of a company executive, used to manipulate stakeholders or authorize illicit activity.
- Identity fraud: AI-generated fake resumes, headshots and personas enable organizational infiltration and unauthorized access.
- Real-time impersonation: AI mimics voices for calls and creates texts/emails that perfectly resemble legitimate business communications.
- AI-generated misinformation: AI can generate and spread fabricated news, press releases and posts to manipulate markets, create confusion and harm reputations.
- Website and job listing cloning: Attackers mimic corporate sites and job listings to scam employees and third parties.
- Vibe coding and malicious AI code injection: Unregulated AI-assisted coding can introduce vulnerabilities into production systems.
AI-generated deception can be devastating:
- Financial fraud: AI-generated voice phishing (vishing) has already been used to convince employees to transfer large sums of money.
- Reputation damage: A deepfake video of an executive behaving inappropriately or spreading misinformation can go viral with no authenticity checks.
- Operational disruption: Intruders using impersonation or fake credentials can bypass onboarding, credentials, or contracts—a potentially serious problem for planners and suppliers.
To stay ahead of AI-driven deception, consider the following:
Revamp authentication for communications: Verify voice, video and calls with multiple channels for high-risk actions like transfers, contracts and public statements. Use out-of-band confirmation, biometrics or physical keys such as YubiKeys.
Educate employees: Teams need practical security awareness beyond phishing—including deepfakes, AI voice scams and credentials fraud. Staff who can spot and report threats strengthen organizational resilience.
Real-time monitoring: Digital risk tools scan social media, apps and dark web for brand/executive impersonations. Providers like Recorded Future, ZeroFox and Blackbird.AI enable early detection and quick response to threats.
Validate what’s real: Industry frameworks like C2PA and tools such as Adobe’s Content Credentials or DeepMind’s SynthID create digital fingerprints for trustworthy content. While they won’t prevent bad actors from creating fakes, they equip businesses with means to disprove them.
* Threat actors are individuals or groups who deliberately harm digital systems. They exploit vulnerabilities in computers, networks, and software to launch phishing, ransomware and malware attacks.
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