Deepfake protocols for world leaders needed now: Brookings

A United States think tank analyzing the global economy says it is beyond time for national security and policymaking officials to address how deepfakes do and will influence international conflict.

The Brookings Institution has published a report claiming that deepfakes are fundamentally no different than the “deceit and media manipulation (that) have always been part of wartime communications.” Add to that being a part of tinkering with reputations.

They are just new tools, and they will be used with the abandon seen with conventional weapons around the world unless a code of conduct is developed and adhered to.

In fact, the report advises, political and military leaders (in the United States, at least) considering the use of deepfakes as a weapon should borrow an existing decision-making process for conventional cyber weapons.

According to the Brookings authors, leaders presented with the option of using cyber weapons first look to see if anticipated results of doing so outweigh risks. It is called an equities process and is designed to minimize the chance that an action will prompt an otherwise-avoidable, unnecessary response.

The report does not advise against ever using deepfakes with an adversary.

Someone, probably in the Kremlin, has already approved a deepfake attack. After Russia invaded Ukraine last spring, a deepfake of Ukraine’s president appeared in a video telling citizens to surrender.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  cybersecurity  |  deepfakes  |  digital economy  |  fraud prevention  |  national security