concept

deepfake technology

Also known as: deepfake, deepfakes, deep fakes, deepfake technology

Facts (31)

Sources

Cybersecurity Trends and Predictions 2025 From Industry Insiders itprotoday.com ITPro Today 25 facts

claimGenerative AI tools and techniques, such as deepfakes and targeted social engineering, are expected to move down-market and become accessible to ordinary cyber criminals in 2025.

accountDeepfakes in 2024 were used to create AI-generated images of faux Taylor Swift fans claiming support for US President-Elect Donald Trump and fake videos of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appearing to surrender.

claimDeepfake technology is evolving rapidly and serves as a critical vector for social engineering attacks that can bypass traditional detection methods.

claimIn 2025, AI-powered threats will become more sophisticated, with deepfakes appearing more frequently and amplifying issues related to misinformation and fake news.

claimJim Broome, CTO and president of DirectDefense, states that generative AI and deepfakes are making phishing attacks more sophisticated by eliminating traditional indicators like grammatical errors, rendering standard employee training methods obsolete.

claimTyler Swinehart, director of Global IT & Security at IRONSCALES, predicts that in 2025 there will be a significant increase in the creation of fabricated experts and audiences for sale, facilitated by generative AI and deepfake technologies.

claimGenerative AI empowers both attackers and defenders, with attackers using it to generate complex, targeted phishing, deepfakes, and adaptive malware.

claimTransnational criminal groups are expected to adopt modern AI tools, such as generative AI and deepfakes, to evolve their business operations.

claimSteve Povolny, senior director of Security Research & Competitive Intelligence and co-founder of TEN18 by Exabeam, predicts that video-based deepfakes will become highly realistic and imperceptible from reality in 2025.

claimRiaz Lakhani, CISO at Barracuda, predicts that threat actors will use artificial intelligence to scale content creation, produce more persuasive content, and employ deepfake and voice replication technologies for sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks.

measurementDeepfake-related financial losses are projected to increase from $12.3 billion in 2023 to $40 billion by 2027.

claimCriminals will use advanced deepfake technology to create convincing fake audio and video messages from trusted individuals or organizations for use in spear-phishing campaigns and fraud schemes.

claimIn 2025, hackers' mobile phishing toolkits are expected to expand to include deepfake technology, such as video or vocal distortion, to impersonate organizational leaders for corporate infrastructure attacks.

claimAI is lowering the barrier to entry for creating sophisticated phishing campaigns, including deepfake voice calls and hyper-personalized spear phishing emails.

procedureTo mitigate the risks of deepfakes, organizations should educate employees on identifying deepfakes, establish clear processes for reporting incidents, and explore the use of deepfake detection tools.

claimCurrent deepfake technology is expensive to leverage, leading hackers to primarily target widespread consumer attacks, such as fake celebrity endorsements for crypto buyers, to maximize monetary rewards.

claimAs deepfake technology becomes more accessible to consumers, it will likely be incorporated into phishing toolkits to conduct hyper-personalized attacks.

claimGenerative AI accelerates the understanding of people, processes, and technologies, which will facilitate sophisticated attacks such as phishing, deep fakes, and vishing.

claimThe author predicts that deepfake technology will become increasingly commoditized in 2025, allowing adversaries to use it on a larger scale to target everyday people and conduct financially motivated cyber attacks on companies.

perspectiveOrganizations must implement robust authentication and verification protocols to safeguard against deepfakes and synthetic data breaches to ensure the integrity of their workflows.

perspectiveGeorge Gerchow predicts that the combination of AI-driven attacks, deepfake technology, and heightened regulation will increase the complexity of cybersecurity in 2025.

claimGovernment bodies are potentially more vulnerable to threats like deepfakes and sophisticated AI attacks because they are often distributed.

measurementVerizon's 2024 Mobile Security Index reported that 77% of respondents anticipate an increase in AI-assisted attacks, such as deep fakes and SMS phishing, intensifying the mobile threat landscape.

claimIdentity spoofing is expected to be a major concern in 2025 due to the advancement of AI and deepfake technologies and the use of personal metadata and listening data from telecom network breaches by attackers.

claimSteve Wilson, chief product officer at Exabeam, predicts that by 2025, cyber attackers will use generative AI with improved reasoning abilities to execute realistic phishing scams, including deepfake voices and video avatars, and perform complex automated probing for vulnerabilities.

Cyber Warfare in 2026: Trends, Threats, AI & Global Risks eccu.edu ECCU 2 days ago 3 facts

claimCyber warfare extends into the cognitive domain through the use of disinformation campaigns, social media manipulation, and deepfake technologies to influence public opinion, destabilize societies, and undermine trust in institutions.

claimArtificial intelligence accelerates offensive cyber warfare by enabling attackers to automate reconnaissance and vulnerability scanning at scale, generate hyper-personalized phishing campaigns, develop adaptive malware that evolves in real time, and create convincing deepfakes for disinformation operations.

claimInformation warfare tactics, including disinformation campaigns, social media manipulation, and deepfake technologies, exploit algorithmic amplification, confirmation bias, and the speed of digital information dissemination to influence public opinion and destabilize societies.

Beyond Missile Deterrence: The Rise of Algorithmic Superiority trendsresearch.org Trends Research & Advisory Mar 16, 2026 2 facts

claimGenerative AI enables the rapid production of realistic but fake text, images, audio, and video, commonly referred to as deepfakes, for use in disinformation campaigns.

claimGenerative AI models facilitate cyberattacks by producing customized messages and deepfakes that increase the probability of successful network intrusion.

Cyber Arms Race: Weaponized Artificial Intelligence Expected to ... smallwarsjournal.com Small Wars Journal Feb 9, 2026 1 fact

claimKinetic IT predicts that AI-driven phishing, deepfakes, and adaptive malware will accelerate cyberattacks and lower barriers to criminal operations in 2026.