94 percent of security professionals are worried about deepfakes

New research from email security company IRONSCALES finds near-ubiquitous concern surrounding the security implications of deepfakes while only 42 percent of respondents feel very confident about their organization’s ability to defend against deepfake-enabled attacks.

Based on a survey of over 200 IT processionals the report finds 94 percent have some level of concern surrounding deepfakes, and 74 percent say they are 'very concerned.'

"As deepfakes grow increasingly sophisticated, and motivations for misuse abound, there is a clear and growing sense of worry taking hold among industry professionals," says Eyal Benishti, founder and CEO at IRONSCALES. "However, one of the most startling revelations to emerge from this report is just how widespread and severe this concern really is. Worse yet, by all indications, it appears those closest to the problem are in agreement that the worst of what deepfake-enabled threats has to offer is still yet to come."

Over 43 percent of respondents say deepfake defense will rank as their organizations' top security priority in the next 12-18 months. An additional 48 percent acknowledge that it will be an important part of their security operations.

Targeted phishing emails are the second most commonly-encountered type of deepfake-driven cyber attacks today, surpassed only by static imagery, and by a margin of just five percent. The majority of professionals (53 percent) believe email represents an 'extreme threat' as a channel for deepfake-driven attacks, surpassing all other avenues, including social media and messaging apps.

You can get the full report from the IRONSCALES site.

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