The term “deepfake” itself emerged in 2017 on Reddit, where users began superimposing celebrities’ faces onto different individuals, particularly in adult content. The article adopts a broad definition of deepfake, encompassing various manipulations in alignment with popular understanding. A deepfake, as conceived in this context, typically involves the creation of a video using advanced technical means to portray an individual saying or doing something they did not.
Detecting such manipulations proves challenging, with peripheral applications extending to realistic-looking videos generated without high-tech means, high-quality videos featuring non-existent individuals, fake audio or text fragments and manipulated satellite signals. This inclusive perspective is deemed crucial for legal and policy considerations, emphasizing outcomes over specific technical methods.
The gravity of the deepfake issue was further underscored in 2019, as a significant attack occurred when hackers impersonated a CEO’s phone request, resulting in a $243,000 unauthorized bank transfer. This incident prompted heightened vigilance and precautionary measures within financial institutions, even as hackers continued to refine their techniques.
In 2021, criminals executed a sophisticated scheme exploiting knowledge about an impending company acquisition. A bank manager was deceived into transferring a staggering $35 million to a fraudulent account by strategically timing the attack with the company’s expected wire transfer for the acquisition. This instance underscores the evolving threat landscape and emphasizes the pressing need for enhanced cybersecurity measures to counter deepfake attacks in the financial sector.
Source: Barandbench
