With 75% of organizations having experienced at least one deepfake attack in the last 12 months, according to email cybersecurity company Ironscales, it is clear that this emerging technology is becoming more dangerous and more common. Phone calls, call centers, and web conferencing platforms are all at risk, with malicious actors using deepfakes to pursue fraud, theft, phishing, and reputational harm. They are attacking all industries without prejudice, including financial services.
There is good news as well: AI-enabled deepfake detection solutions can now identify and help repel these threats in real time. One critical aspect of these solutions is the establishment of a robust playbook — a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to help organizations identify, respond to, mitigate, and learn from deepfake incidents.
Implement the Right Tool Right Now
The right real-time monitoring solution enables organizations to maintain vigilance across all communication channels. It’s important to consider that with the average cost of a large-company data breach exceeding $4.45 million in 2023, according to Accenture, it’s far less expensive to take proactive steps before an attack. In addition, Accenture’s State of Cybersecurity Resilience 2023 report noted that organizations able to closely align cybersecurity to business objectives are 18% more likely to achieve target revenue growth and market share while improving customer satisfaction.
AI-powered solutions such as those offered by Reality Defender should be deployed across phone systems, call centers, and web conferencing platforms. Whatever solution you consider, make sure it offers the ability to integrate easily into all communication systems. When these tools are seamlessly integrated, they can identify anomalies like unnatural speech patterns, visual artifacts, or latency mismatches, triggering alerts for suspicious activity — all in real time.
Include Your People
While real-time automated tools are indispensable, human vigilance remains equally important. Employees must be trained to spot deepfake indicators such as unnatural facial movements, inconsistent responses, and irregular speech patterns. A reputable vendor can help with this training. If people sense trouble or potential deepfakes, they should have escalate concerns immediately. Keep in mind that even people who work in the deepfake detection field themselves can have a hard time spotting potential use of AI without the help of AI. Thus, if something doesn’t feel right, it may not be.
Creating an incident response team with clear roles and responsibilities is also critical, along with continually updating playbooks and implementing training to incorporate lessons learned. This is important because threats and technologies can and will evolve.
Fast and Thorough Investigations Help Keep You Safe
Once a deepfake is flagged, triage should begin immediately. The first step in this part of your playbook is assessing the nature and severity of the incident. High-risk cases should be escalated to senior cybersecurity personnel. Then comes forensic analysis, which includes collecting data such as call logs and video recordings and comparing anomalies to known deepfake patterns. This process should include relevant stakeholders like legal, HR, and incident response teams. In addition, this may also be the time to communicate with regulators.
Re-Establish Trust
Effective resolution requires immediate containment and long-term remediation. After affected sessions have been isolated and stakeholders informed, it is time to re-establish trust in compromise channels. This can be done with the help of secondary verification methods such as two-factor authentication or callback protocols.
Ensure Due Diligence in Documentation
Accurate documentation is essential for accountability, analysis, and continuous improvement. Incident logs should capture details such as detection timestamps, tools used, observed anomalies, and which actions were taken. Maintaining a secure audit trail of all actions and communications also ensures regulatory compliance and preserves a clear historical record.
Use Post-Incident Reviews to Learn and Strengthen
Every deepfake incident provides an opportunity to refine protocols and strengthen defenses. A post-incident review can identify gaps or delays in the detection, investigation and resolution. These insights can in turn guide improvements in detection thresholds, system configurations and employee training. Organizations should solicit feedback from all team members involved in the response. This information is extremely valuable for identifying pain points and incorporating improvements into the playbook, streamlining future responses.
The Overall Goal: Create SOPs to fight the TTPs
With the right deepfake detection solution in place and implementation of a solid playbook, your organization will be better able to understand and counter the evolving Tools, Tactics and Procedures used by deepfake threat actors.
Fortunately, staying safe isn’t all that complicated. It’s a matter of combining advanced detection solutions like Reality Defender with a playbook-enhanced commitment to continuous improvement. With these steps accomplished, organizations will be on their way to safeguarding their communication channels, revenue and reputation
To learn how Reality Defender can help secure your institution's critical communications against deepfake impersonation attacks, schedule a conversation with our team.
