Kaspersky Explores Deepfake Industry On Darknet, The Results Are Surprising!

Kaspersky conducts deepfake research on the darknet (photo: Kaspersky)

JAKARTA - In today's digital era, the risk of becoming a victim of deepfakes is increasing because attackers can easily extract their potential target images, coupled with the many artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that are increasingly easy to use.

These manipulated videos and images can be used for various malicious purposes, including financial fraud, political manipulation, revenge, and harassment.

"Criminals in cyberspace are increasingly using deepfakes to commit various scams, including crypto asset fraud and biometric security breaches," said Vladislav Tilov, Lead Data Scientist at Kaspersky in a statement received on Friday, May 12.

However, high-quality deepfake manufacturing requires advanced technical and software expertise, which is why individuals who want to make fake media switch to deepfake manufacturing services available on dark webs.

In a study conducted on the darknet, Kaspersky experts revealed that there is significant demand for deepfakes, exceeding the available supply. People are actively looking for individuals who can create fake videos for them.

The cost of making or purchasing deepfake varies depending on the complexity of the project and the quality of the final product. In some cases, individuals can even ask for deepfakes for specific targets such as celebrities or political figures. The price per minute of deepfake videos can range from 300 to 20,000 US dollars or around IDR 4.4 - 290 million.

A large number of posts analyzed refer to crypto asset scams. Some providers offer high-quality deepfakes for crypto asset fraud purposes. Their services include creating "Cryptostreams" or "False Crypto Prizes", which are popular scams in which attackers collect crypto assets by broadcasting fake rewards.

To create this deepfake, scammers use celebrity footage or combine old videos to launch live streaming on social media platforms.

They often show pre-generated pages where victims are asked to transfer from 2,500 to 1,000,000 XRP, with the promise to double their payments. As a result, users trapped in this scam can lose from 1.000 to 460,000 US dollars (Rp. 14 million to Rp. 3.8 billion).

In addition to the fact that deepfakes are used for financial fraud, they can also cause huge privacy concerns, for example, some deepfake makers offer services for porn video creation.

This type of porn-deepfake can also be used to extort individuals, which causes serious emotional losses and even financial losses to victims.

"The fact that there is a high demand for deepfake creation services also shows that individuals and groups with malicious intent are willing to pay a large amount of money to get such videos. As technology continues to increase and becomes more accessible, it is very important for companies and individuals to take protection measures from fraud and attacks related to deepfakes," he added.