Kaspersky's global research and analytics team discovered the ads on darknet who offer creation services deepfake content in real time, for both video and audio. Prices start at $50 for fake video and $30 for fake voice messages.
The prices increase depending on the complexity and duration of the material, the Kaspersky company stated, adding that these data are the result of the analysis of several platforms in Russian and English.
It is stated that Kaspersky previously identified services for creating deepfake material on the darknet whose prices ranged from $300 to $20.000 per minute, while the current ads allow malicious actors to generate fake audio and video content in real time at a significantly lower cost.
Face swap
The ads mention several options, including live face swapping during video calls on video conferencing platforms or chat apps, face swapping for verification, and face swapping in device camera videos.
The creators of the ad claim they can provide software that synchronizes facial expressions of a person in a video with text, even in foreign languages, as well as tools to clone the voice and adjust the tone and color of the voice to convey certain emotions, the statement said.
Kaspersky advises companies to provide effective cyber security measures, not only protection solutions, but also qualified IT experts, to make sure that employees understand what deepfake content is and why it poses a serious threat, and accordingly provide regular training to recognize it.
It is also necessary to teach the staff to recognize the key signs of deepfake material - jerky movements, inconsistent lighting between frames, unnatural skin tones, unusual or absent blinking, image distortions, as well as videos that are intentionally recorded in low quality or in poor lighting.
What is a deepfake?
Dipfake is a computer animation process that creates a fake video and audio that looks very real, by replacing the face of the recorded person with the face of another person, using artificial intelligence.
It is used in the production of films, but also for the production of fake news, by subverting a statement to a person who did not say it.
One of the famous examples of deepfake videos was the statement of the president of Ukraine about ending the war with Russia. In March 2022, during the height of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a shocking video began circulating on social media. The video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing the nation and telling Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender to Russian forces.
But there was one big problem: the video was completely fake.
In May 2023, panic gripped social media when a picture appeared showing an explosion near the Pentagon. The image appeared authentic, and several verified Twitter accounts shared it. It showed a plume of black smoke rising from a government building, suggesting a possible terrorist or missile attack.
The picture was not real. It was an artificial intelligence generated deepfake.
Source: FoNet/Vreme
