New Research From IRONSCALES Reveals Deepfake Dread Looms Large Among IT Professionals: Over 74% “Very Concerned” With What Future Holds

The new survey report from email security leader IRONSCALES indicates security concerns are widespread and rapidly worsening as the nascent technology makes its mark on the modern threat landscape

IRONSCALES, the AI-powered email security leader protecting 15,000 global customers from advanced phishing attacks, today released a new industry report, Deepfakes: Assessing Organizational Readiness in the Face of This Emerging Cyber Threat. Based on the survey responses of over 200 IT professionals, the report points to a number of leading indicators related to the looming cybersecurity threat posed by deepfake technologies. Among the most compelling findings from the report is the fact that, despite near-ubiquitous concern surrounding the security implications of deepfakes (94%), less than half (42%) of respondents felt very confident about their organization’s ability to defend against deepfake-enabled attacks.

The report comes at a time when the increasing sophistication of deepfake technologies has left many struggling to discern the artificially generated content from reality. At the same time, we find ourselves in the middle of one of the biggest election years in modern history—with more than 60 countries, representing over half the entire global population, voting in democratic elections in 2024. This confluence of efficacy and opportunity has rapidly transformed deepfakes from a mere technological novelty into a real and imminent security threat.

“As deepfakes grow increasingly sophisticated, and motivations for misuse abound, there is a clear and growing sense of worry taking hold among industry professionals,” said Eyal Benishti, founder and CEO at IRONSCALES. “However, one of the most startling revelations to emerge from this report is just how widespread and severe this concern really is. Worse yet, by all indications, it appears those closest to the problem are in agreement that the worst of what deepfake-enabled threats has to offer is still yet to come.”

The report goes on to detail a number of interesting findings that highlight the severity of the threat posed by deepfake technologies, both currently and in the near future. Some key findings include:

• Concerns around deepfakes are increasingly widespread and rapidly intensifying:
  • Over 94% of IT professionals express some level of concern about the threat deepfakes currently pose to their organizations.
  • When asked about the threat deepfakes will pose in the near future, the percentage of “very concerned” respondents rose sharply, to a staggering 74%.

• Deepfake defense is quickly climbing toward the top of organizations’ priorities:
  • Over 43% of IT professionals say deepfake defense will rank as their organizations’ top security priority in the next 12-18 months.
  • An additional 48% acknowledge that it will be an important part of their security operations.

• Email emerges as the most commonly-used and worrying avenue of attack for deepfake-driven threats:
  • Targeted phishing emails are the second most commonly-encountered type of deepfake-driven cyber attacks today, surpassed only by static imagery, and by a margin of just 5%.
  • The majority of professionals (53%) believe email represents an “extreme threat” as a channel for deepfake-driven attacks, surpassing all other avenues, including social media and messaging apps.

Together, these findings paint a worrying picture of deepfakes and their role in both the current and future threat landscapes. To take a closer look at the report findings, including how organizations plan to prepare for the impending flood of deepfake-driven cyberattacks, download a complete copy of the report here.

About IRONSCALES

IRONSCALES is the leader in AI-powered email security protecting over 15,000 global organizations from advanced phishing threats. As the pioneer of adaptive AI, we detect and remediate attacks like business email compromise (BEC), account takeovers (ATO), and zero-days that other solutions miss. By combining the power of AI and continuous human insights, we safeguard inboxes, unburden IT teams, and turn employees into a vital part of cyber defense across enterprises and managed service providers. IRONSCALES is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. To learn more, visit www.ironscales.com or follow us on X @IRONSCALES.