Deepfakes Dialogue Dilemma: Reasons CISOs Face Challenges Speaking on Deepfakes and Strategies for Communicating Effectively
Deepfake technology, once a novelty, has evolved into a formidable threat for enterprise organizations worldwide. In Q1 2025 alone, financial losses from deepfake-enabled enterprise fraud exceeded $200 million[1][3][5].
These losses are a result of sophisticated scams involving deepfake video and audio impersonations of executives to authorize large fraudulent payments. The impact on the cybersecurity landscape has been profound, with the rise of deepfake fraud leading to renewed focus on synthetic identity detection and stronger identity verification methods[1].
The use of AI-generated content, including deepfakes, is being used by attackers to create synthetic content (images, audio, and video) and malicious deepfakes with unprecedented speed and sophistication. This has transformed the threat landscape into one that is unpredictable and ever-evolving[1].
Rapid growth in AI-enabled impersonation fraud has challenged traditional trust-based financial controls, as criminals convincingly mimic CEOs, CFOs, and other trusted figures using deepfakes in video calls and phone interactions[1][2][4]. Enterprises, especially financial institutions, are under increasing pressure to adopt advanced detection technologies — including forensic-level AI algorithms capable of identifying subtle artifacts in deepfaked images, videos, and voices — to mitigate these increasingly subtle and complex attacks[3].
The rise of deepfake fraud has also led to renewed focus on synthetic identity detection. Fraudsters are exploiting AI to create fake customer profiles, further complicating the already complex cybersecurity landscape[1]. Organizations face new operational and strategic cybersecurity challenges, requiring CISO-level awareness and boardroom engagement to address these evolving AI-powered threats[5].
Legislative and regulatory responses are beginning to target deepfake misuse more aggressively to combat financial and cybercrime enabled by this technology[4]. In Denmark, for example, efforts are being made to combat the use of deepfakes in fraudulent activities.
To effectively combat deepfake threats, CISOs should anchor the conversation in something boards already understand: social engineering. Deepfakes are framed as an evolved, more dangerous form of phishing that has existed within the industry for years and continues to be the number one attack vector of social engineering[6].
CISOs should ground their conversation in risk, cost, and operational continuity when discussing deepfakes. Utilizing metrics from trainings and simulations can help frame the issue in a way that boards understand. Boards are already comfortable approving resources to defend against phishing, and framing deepfakes as an evolution of this threat can help CISOs secure resources to address this issue[7].
However, it's important to consider which examples CISOs put in front of boards, as extreme examples can create a sense that "something that catastrophic could never happen to us." Instead, CISOs should focus on the potential risks and costs associated with a successful deepfake attack, emphasizing the need for continuous education and advanced AI-based defenses to maintain cyber resilience across the organization[7].
In conclusion, the adoption of AI has made deepfake and identity-based attacks more frequent and widespread. To combat these threats, CISOs must work closely with boards to implement advanced AI-based defenses, heightened vigilance, and continuous education to ensure enterprise organizations remain protected in the face of this ever-evolving threat landscape.
References:
- Deepfake Threats: A Growing Cybersecurity Concern
- The Rise of Deepfakes and Its Impact on the Financial Industry
- Deepfake Detection: A Critical Need for Financial Institutions
- Denmark Takes Aggressive Steps to Combat Deepfake Misuse
- Deepfakes: A New Threat to Enterprise Cybersecurity
- Deepfakes: The New Phishing Threat
- Framing Deepfakes as an Evolution of Phishing to Secure Resources
- To counteract the escalating threats posed by deepfakes, businesses are increasingly investing in artificial-intelligence-based countermeasures for improved identification of deepfaked images, videos, and voices, enhancing their cybersecurity fortifications.
- The intersection of deepfake technology and finance has resulted in an unprecedented surge in enterprise fraud, necessitating a focus on education-and-self-development for executives to recognize the signs of such sophisticated scams and protect the business from potential losses.
- The influence of technology on cybersecurity extends beyond deepfakes, with advancements in AI and automation playing significant roles in the development of new AI-powered solutions for identity verification and synthetic identity detection, thereby bolstering the overall business resilience against cyber-attacks.
