Security News
Cybercriminals are using AI and ML to exploit vulnerabilities such as user behavior or security gaps to gain access to valuable business systems and data. Tech companies are trying to stay ahead of the game by creating AI technologies that fight against AI attacks, including deepfakes.
In a RSA 2020 simulation, the Red Team compromised email accounts, created deepfake videos and spread disinformation on Election Day in Adversaria.
In a RSA 2020 simulation, the Red Team compromised email accounts, created deepfake videos and spread disinformation on Election Day in Adversaria. At RSA 2020, Cybereason assembled a group of journalists and other conference attendees to be the Red Team, in charge of creating just enough chaos to cause residents of the fictional city Adversaria to doubt the results of the election.
With machine learning, it is also possible to generate fake audio for the video or accurately stitch together comment snips to create a totally fake narrative. Consider if a CEO of a company appears on a corporate video making forward-looking performance statements that could likely affect the stock price or a Deepfake inside a conference call video that makes it appear as if an executive is making requests to share information that may expose the business to risk.
On Tuesday, Twitter rolled out its plans to handle deepfakes and other forms of disinformation. In a call with reporters on Tuesday, Twitter's head of site integrity, Yoel Roth, said that Twitter's focus under the new policy is "To look at the outcome, not how it was achieved." That's in stark contrast to Facebook, which sparked outrage when it announced its own deepfakes policy a month ago.
Twitter unveiled a plan Tuesday to curb the spread of manipulated content including "Deepfake" videos as part of a move to fight misinformation which could result in violence or other harm. Twitter vice president of trust and safety Del Harvey said the new policy addresses not only deepfakes but other kinds of manipulation, sometimes described as "Shallow fakes" or "Cheapfakes."
The first examples of deepfakes seen by the general public were mainly amateur videos created using free deepfake tools, typically of celebrities' faces superimposed into pornographic videos. This October, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California's AB 730, known as the "Anti-Deepfake Bill," into law with the intent to quell the spread of malicious deepfakes before the 2020 election.
Facebook will be using its own staff, as well as independent fact-checkers, to judge a video's authenticity. Given the latitude the new policy gives to satire, parody, or videos altered with simple/cheapo technologies, it might mean that some pretty infamous, and widely shared, cheapfakes will be given a pass and left on the platform.
Despite the difficulties of identifying deepfakes, social media sites are recognizing the need to crack down on the manipulated, misleading videos. Facebook is banning deepfake videos, which stem from a technique of human-image synthesis based on artificial intelligence to create fake content.
Too soon for New Year Resolutions? Cybercriminals will continue to exploit tried-and-tested fraud methods but also adopt a couple of new takes and targets in the year ahead.…