Page 201 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2025

How can we Detect and Combat Deepfakes?

Deepfakes war is multi-faceted and will have to be addressed with technology, education, and policy.

• AI-Based Detection Tools

inventive technology companies and researchers have developed AI programs that monitor video and
audio for characteristic signs of lying, i.e. inconsistent blinking, strange facial response, or audio glitch.
Technology like Microsoft's Video Authenticator can attach a confidence level to content media, allowing
individuals to verify as authentic before uploading or acting on it.

• Digital Watermarking and Blockchain

New technologies are incorporating invisible digital watermarks in material or keeping metadata for
blockchain transactions to enable the content to be validated. This suggests that content creators and
media companies will be able to determine if their material is original or not, thus making it simple to
detect imitation.

• Media Literacy and Public Awareness

The best defense is an educated public. Media literacy educates people to recognize when they are being
deceived and to ask who the source is, and to go check it out before you share it. Governments, teachers
and platforms all have a role to play in promoting critical thinking on the web.

• Policy and Legal Frameworks

Various nations are drafting regulations to criminalize the malicious use of deepfakes but also safeguard
free speech and creativity. California has now defined non-consensual deepfake pornography as a crime
while the EU is mulling over rules to curb the proliferation of AI-generated content.

• Industry Cooperation and Standards

Technology companies, media organizations, and governments all must collaborate to establish content
verification systems and rapid response to deepfakes. Shared databases and transparency reports of all
previously known fakes will be able to prevent the spread and impact.

The Ethical and Societal Challenge

Deepfakes are not inherently evil; they also represent creative possibilities in film, game, and access, i.e.
natural-sounding dubbing or bringing dead people back. The ethics problem is balance between
innovation and responsibility. With deepfake technologies that are becoming more advanced, individuals
and communities will have to deal with new issues of consent, privacy, and what truth means.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2025 Edition 201
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