Security Practices Must Evolve To Battle Growing Deepfake Sophistication
siliconANGLE, Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
A few years ago, deepfakes were a novelty - something relegated to Reddit threads and face-swap memes. Now, they're tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals, paired seamlessly with large language models to deliver personalized attacks that are as scalable as they are convincing.
The sophistication lies in the handoff: Large language models generate nuanced, context-aware dialogue for use in emails, scripts and Slack messages while deepfake tech gives them a face and voice. Alone, each of these tools is dangerous. Together, they're capable of emulating an executive in tone, content and physical presence, enough to bypass the most skeptical gatekeepers.
The issue came to the fore this week with reports that a bad actor posing as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted several government officials using deepfakes to imitate Rubio's voice and writing style. It's believed that the imposter was attempting to gain access to privileged accounts.