The rapid advancement and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier for cybercriminals to deploy sophisticated attacks. Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro has reported a significant surge in AI-based tools within the criminal underground, facilitating these malicious activities.
AI tools have become increasingly affordable and accessible, allowing cybercriminals of varying expertise to execute large-scale attacks. These attacks aim to deceive victims for extortion, identity theft, fraud, or misinformation purposes.
“Our latest research reveals several new deepfake tools that make it easy for cybercriminals at all skill levels to launch damaging scams, social engineering, and security bypass attempts,” said Ian Felipe, country manager of Trend Micro Philippines. “Like past shifts in the threat and IT landscape, we have seen the challenge of securing AI and risen to it.”
Detecting and countering these AI-driven tactics is crucial for reducing attack surface risks for businesses and minimizing online threats for consumers. According to a recent Trend Micro survey, 71% of respondents viewed deepfakes negatively, citing fraud as one of the primary concerns.
Trend Vision One
Trend Micro’s new deepfake detection technology, soon to be available on the Trend Vision One platform, will employ advanced methods to identify AI-generated content. This technology aims to mitigate the significant risks posed by deepfakes, which can lead to misinformation, financial loss, job displacement, legal issues, reputation damage, identity theft, and potential harm to mental or physical health.
In a recent Trend Micro study, 36% of consumers reported encountering scam attempts involving deepfakes. According to Trend Micro, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has previously highlighted the use of deepfake technology in business email compromise attacks (BEC) and fraudulent applications for remote jobs.
Deepfakes not only evade human verification but also biometric security measures like facial recognition. Trend Micro’s research has also noted a trend toward exploiting existing large language models (LLMs) through jailbreaking techniques rather than developing new criminal AI tools.
By integrating this deepfake detection tool, Trend Micro aims to enhance security and provide better protection against the evolving threat landscape shaped by AI advancements.
Thumbnail image is AI-generated.