Defending Against Deepfakes: What you Need to Know

In the age of advanced technology, the proliferation of deepfake content challenges the authenticity of digital media. With the growing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), it has become easier than ever to create convincing deepfakes that can effectively deceive intelligent audiences. While many use deepfakes for entertainment purposes, there are also those who attempt to leverage this technology for nefarious means. The same way that email or social media impersonation can have major cybersecurity consequences, deepfakes have the potential to cause severe damage when used by bad actors. This blog provides essential tips for recognizing and protecting against deepfakes.

1. Understand Deepfake Basics

Identifying and avoiding deepfake attacks is much easier with a simple understanding of the technology behind deepfakes. Learning about AI algorithms and how perpetrators manipulate them to create convincing audiovisual content that can deceive targets. They achieve this by gathering photos and videos and leveraging AI tools to superimpose images onto existing footage.

The advanced technology used to create deepfakes can make it extremely difficult to tell when a video is authentic and when it is manipulated to deceive its audience. However, understanding the process that goes into making a deepfake video gives away some of the fundamental aspects that can help to discern the media’s true nature.

2. Spot a Deepfake by Analyzing Facial and Vocal Cues

One of the telltale signs of an audio or video being manipulated is inconsistent facial expressions, eye movements, and voice modulations. The technology used to create deepfakes is often highly effective, but it is by no means perfect, and many of the most common mistakes are somewhat easy for the discerning eye to detect. By paying close attention to content and analyzing the faces and voices as they move and speak, you can catch a number of different signs of a deepfake. While technology continues to advance to cover the most obvious gaps, many deepfakes can still be spotted by abnormal blinking, skin tone variation, and inaccurate lip syncing, to name a few.

3. Check Lighting and Shadows

Another significant area where deepfakes tend to have difficulty is lighting. The AI and ML used to create deepfakes are not infallible, and it is common for lighting and shading to pose a problem. Therefore, it is common to see inconsistent light and shadows in deepfake videos due to inaccuracies in replicating original lighting conditions.

Users can learn to spot irregularities in lighting and shadows, giving them an edge to more easily detect deepfakes. To do this, it is important to consider factors like where the light source is coming from, whether the lighting conditions are consistent throughout the image or video, and how shadows interact with the environment.

4. Assess Unnatural Movements

The most convincing deepfakes can appear mostly seamless, but many of these deceptive videos show signs of manipulation, especially in motion. Look for unnatural movements or artifacts around manipulated elements. Because many deepfakes consist of making it appear as if a certain person is saying something they did not actually say, there are often distortions around the mouth and the edges of the face. Learning to detect and identify these anomalies can give away when one person’s face has been superimposed onto an existing video, as is often the case, and help users avoid fake videos.

5. Use Deepfake Detection Tools

Since technology is used to create and disseminate deepfakes, it only makes sense to use technological tools to fight the threat. Evolving threat trends call for evolving security solutions, and there are a number of tools on the market that have detecting deepfakes as part of their functionality. In order to determine which tools will work for your particular needs and resources, explore available detection tools and their features and capabilities. Leveraging technology in the fight against misinformation can prove to be a significant step to empower yourself against synthetic media and prevent deepfake scams.

6. Promote Media Literacy

While it is undoubtedly important to become aware of the specific and technical aspects of a deepfake video in order to identify one, general media literacy is also a major contributing factor. Discerning what content is real and what is fake may not come down to errors giving it away or detection tools flagging it as suspicious. It may be a simple case of viewing media that seems difficult to believe, digging further into it, and discovering that it is not authentic. Promoting critical thinking and building the habit of fact-checking questionable claims can go a long way in defending against deepfakes.

7. Secure Your Online Presence

The most popular image of deepfakes takes the form of deceptive videos of celebrities or politicians, but many deepfakes are deployed in targeted personal attacks, impersonating somebody that the target knows. Implementing practical tips for securing social media accounts, enhancing password security, and exercising caution with personal information online is a good way to defend against bad actors using their knowledge to deceive you.

What you need to do

By adopting these concise yet effective tips, individuals can actively defend against the rising threat of deepfakes, ensuring a safer and more secure online environment. In order to effectively defend against deepfakes and related dangers, it is important to be aware of trends in technology and changes in the threat landscape. To learn more about deepfakes, how they work, and how to avoid falling victim to an attack, check out VIPRE’s informative course on the topic.