Page 200 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2025

Inciting Social Discord

The deepfakes could be used to generate social instability in the form of rumors against ethnic minorities,
religious groups or social movements. This polarizes, result in protest, or riots.

Facilitating Identity Theft and Fraud

Deepfake video and audio are increasingly being utilized by attackers in newer and more advanced
methods to impersonate CEOs or government officials and manipulate employees or citizens into making
fund transfers or sharing sensitive information. The attacks can be extremely targeted and bypass
traditional security practices like passwords or security questions.

Examples of Deepfake Misuse in Real Life

1. The Nigerian Email Scam Using Deepfake Audio

In 2019, the CEO of a UK energy firm was deep faked via voice to direct an employee to wire €220,000
to a Hungarian supplier. The accent employed was the CEO's German one and sounded very natural
and led to a very expensive scam.

2. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Political Deepfake

Doctored videos cropped up in 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, falsely with Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking words of surrender. Doctored videos were intended to
demoralize the Ukrainians and mislead global audiences.

3. Deepfake Porn and Celebrity Exploitation

There are a number of hundred celebrities and public figures who have been attacked by deepfake porn,
with celebrity faces superimposed on adult content via AI without authorization. It is not only an invasion
of privacy but also causes harassment and defamation.

4. Fake Biden Speech Video (2023)

One of the earliest high-profile deepfakes to go viral was of US President Joe Biden in 2023, slurring his
speech. Although it had been edited earlier and created misinformation on the internet, people were
confused and started commenting politically.

5. AI-Generated Deepfake CEO Scam (2024)

Recent instances have shown how extensively the technology of deepfakes has been used by hackers
to impersonate CEOs in video calls and blackmail workers into approving huge transactions within
seconds. Such hacks are a chilling level of sophistication.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2025 Edition 200
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