You’re the CEO of a major company. One day, you receive an email with a video showing you in a compromising situation that the sender says they will share with your board, shareholders, and family. The video is a deepfake, but even you think it looks real.
What would you do? This nightmare scenario is already playing out in other parts of the world but could be coming here soon.
A Significant Deepfake Extortion Attack in Singapore
In Singapore, more than 100 public servants, including five cabinet ministers, received emails containing a sinister threat: pay $50,000 in cryptocurrency or face the consequences of doctored videos showing them in compromising situations.
The attack, which began on November 26th, targeted government officials across 31 agencies, and cybersecurity experts described it as one of the most coordinated and sophisticated deepfake extortion attempts ever.
The Deepfakes Were Created From Public Images They Posted
The scammers harvested publicly available photos from LinkedIn and YouTube and then used deepfake AI software to superimpose the officials’ faces into compromising situations.
The officials were targeted because scammers assumed they would be easy targets who could not only afford to pay the ransom but also be highly motivated since it could destroy their reputations permanently.
According to reports, all the emails’ contents and images (the purported screenshot from the video) were the same, with the only difference being the face of the political office holder or public officer in the image.
This is not an isolated incident either. Hong Kong Legislative Council members also received similar e-mails on Nov 23rd. It appears that this deepfake scam could be multiplying.
Executives Need To Prepare For A Variety Of Deepfake Attacks
Organizations may soon need to prepare for swot teams that can debunk AI extortion attacks against their executives.
A recent report from Epstein Becker Green, indicated that “deepfakes can threaten an organization’s brand, impersonate leaders and financial officers, and enable access to networks, communications, and sensitive information.”