For any readers unaware, deepfakes are algorithmically generated videos or images that can be used to fake an individual’s likeness, mimicking real behaviour and puppeteering speech.
The FBI has stated that it received reports about: “The remote work or work-from-home positions identified in these reports include information technology and computer programming, database, and software related job functions. Notably, some reported positions include access to customer PII, financial data, corporate IT databases and/or proprietary information.”
The FBI shared some observations that people reported that gave away the deepfakes, such as that the actions and lip movement of the person being interviewed were not coordinating with the audio of their speech. In addition, auditory things like coughing and sneezing were not aligned with the person’s actions on the screen.
Of course, this is not the only nefarious use case of deepfakes on record. A 2019 report titled The State of Deepfakes revealed that: “[A] key trend we identified is the prominence of non-consensual deepfake pornography, which accounted for 96% of the total deepfake videos online.”
As with photoshopped imagery, deepfakes have several tell-tale ‘signs’ which businesses can watch out for when dealing with this burgeoning threat. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched a research project and website called Detect Fakes that helps people spot deepfakes. In the project description, MIT presents eight questions to help people determine if a video is a deepfake. Questions are largely based on what the subject in the video looks like, including “Does the skin appear too smooth or too wrinkly?” and “Do shadows appear in places that you would expect?”.
With this in mind the likelihood that you would be able to spot a deepfake being used in an interview is high, so as much as the FBI may be warning of deepfake job interviews, it may be a while before the threat is truly real.