Trend Micro enhances platform to combat AI-based deepfake fraud

Trend Micro has announced new enhancements to its enterprise platform aimed at protecting against AI-based attacks and fraud, including deepfakes. The announcement comes amidst growing concerns about the increased use of AI-based tools in criminal activities.

According to the company's research, the criminal underground is making greater use of AI-based tools because they are now cheaper and more accessible than ever. This trend has made it imperative for businesses to adopt proactive measures to prevent such attacks. The new deepfake detection technology will incorporate advanced methods that go beyond traditional image noise analysis and colour detection by scrutinising user behaviour to offer a more robust defence against deepfakes.

Mick McCluney, ANZ Field Chief Technology Officer at Trend Micro, commented on the situation, saying, “Australia, like the rest of the world, has seen a surge in deepfakes in recent years due to the growing accessibility of AI. For Australian businesses, these threats can pose significant risks to potentially undermine trust, security, and brand integrity. Our latest research reveals several new deepfake tools that make it easy for cybercriminals at all skill levels to launch damaging scams, social engineering, and security bypass attempts. With our newly announced cutting-edge capabilities within the Trend Vision One platform, we are at the forefront of combating these threats for our enterprise customers to detect deepfakes and other forms of AI fraud.”

Tim Falinski, Vice President of Consumer Business for Trend Micro AMEA, added his perspective on the consumer implications. “While deepfakes are a new twist, they exploit the age-old tactics of scams and fraud, and are becoming increasingly effective - putting Australia at risk. We found that 62% of people are concerned about deepfake scams - and with good reason. From romance scams to HR recruiting scams and even grandparent scams, we’ve found that cybercriminals are pushing the limits of deception. Our new Deepfake Inspector is designed to protect Australians by detecting AI-powered impersonations and avoid potentially harmful or costly deceptions.”

A survey conducted by Trend Micro revealed that 71% of respondents viewed deepfakes negatively, citing fraud as one of their top concerns. The company's new detection technology, which will soon be available in the Trend Vision One platform, is designed to spot AI-generated content using a variety of advanced methods. For consumers, the Trend Micro Deepfake Inspector is already available, providing real-time, localised analysis on user devices to protect data and privacy.

Gartner analyst Dan Ayoub underscored the urgency of these developments by noting, “Readily available, high-quality GenAI applications are now capable of creating photo-realistic video content that can deceive or mislead an audience. Given the low barriers to entry in using these tools and their increasing sophistication, developing a methodological approach to detecting GenAI deepfake content has become necessary.”

Deepfakes pose significant risks to both enterprises and individuals. An undetected deepfake can lead to financial ramifications, job losses, legal issues, reputational damage, identity theft, and potential mental or physical harm. A recent study by Trend Micro indicated that 36% of consumers have encountered a scam attempt using a deepfake. The FBI has also issued warnings about the use of deepfake technology in business email compromise attacks and fraudulent applications for remote working positions.

In addition to deepfakes, Trend Micro has noted a shift towards exploiting existing large language models (LLMs) through innovative jailbreaking techniques rather than creating bespoke criminal AI tools. This shift is part of a broader move by the company to secure customers' AI journeys, which includes support for a zero-trust strategy and new features in the Trend Vision One platform.

The newly released features are designed to centralise the management of employees' GenAI access and usage, inspect prompts to prevent data leaks and malicious injections, filter GenAI content to meet compliance requirements and defend against large language model attacks. The Trend Micro Deepfake Inspector alerts users to potential deepfakes during video calls, providing in-depth analysis in real-time while ensuring user data and privacy are protected.