April 12, 2024 at 05:30AM
A LastPass employee was recently targeted in a phishing attack using deepfake technology, with threat actors impersonating the company’s CEO. The employee, suspicious of the urgency and communication outside of normal business hours, ignored the messages and reported the incident. LastPass emphasizes the increasing use of deepfakes in cyber attacks and the need for employee training.
After carefully reviewing the meeting notes, the key takeaways are as follows:
1. An employee at LastPass was targeted in a phishing attack using deepfake technology, where threat actors impersonated the company’s CEO through calls, texts, and voicemail.
2. The employee became suspicious of the urgency and communication outside of normal business hours, recognizing signs of social engineering and subsequently reported the incident to the security team.
3. LastPass emphasized that deepfakes, which create synthetic media to perpetuate false narratives from seemingly trusted sources, are increasingly being used in executive impersonation fraud campaigns.
4. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning has made deepfakes highly realistic, and they have been identified as a significant threat by various US government agencies and Europol.
5. LastPass cautioned that deepfakes have been utilized in business email compromise attacks for at least half a decade, and this week’s failed attempt illustrates the increasing reliance on deepfakes by threat actors.
6. Employee training is crucial in preventing the success of deepfake attacks, with LastPass stressing the importance of verifying potentially suspicious contacts through established and approved internal communications channels.
These takeaways highlight the alarming use of deepfake technology in phishing attacks and the necessity for increased awareness and training to mitigate the risk of such attacks. Additionally, it underlines the need for organizations to be proactive in educating employees about identifying and reporting suspicious communications.