Governor of the Central Bank of Romania, Mughul Isarescufound themselves unknowingly involved in false financial recommendations after being targeted by a deepfake video.
According to Bloomberg, the video used Isarescu’s image and voice and depicted him promoting fraudulent investments. report Monday (February 5th).
The incident raises concerns about the rise in deepfake attacks that use artificial intelligence (AI) to manipulate audio and video content, the report said.
of National Bank of Romania According to the report, the company issued a warning to consumers against the deepfake video and emphasized that neither Isarescu nor the central bank provides investment advice. A central bank spokesperson expressed concern over the incident and called on the public to be careful in their financial transactions.
According to the report, the deepfake video coincided with a rise in interest in Romanian stock investing. Last year saw the country’s largest ever initial public offering (IPO), and the Bucharest Stock Exchange continues to deliver above-average returns. However, cybercriminals are taking advantage of Romania’s relatively low financial intermediation standards and exploiting the situation for fraudulent activities.
Deepfake attacks are expected to intensify this year, according to the report. Romania’s upcoming elections, including parliamentary, presidential, European Union, and local elections, create fertile ground for disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolac also faces cybersecurity challenges, according to the report. He had to change his ID card after a hacker stole a copy of it and posted it on the dark web. The attack on Mr. Cholak’s ID card was related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
AI is reducing the effort required to generate deepfakes, PYMNTS reported on January 9th. AI-enabled capabilities allow you to instantly generate human-like text, virtually clone audio based solely on snippets of audio, and scale behavior-driven attacks with just a click. . Buttons have increasingly democratized access to cybercrime, previously relegated to the realm of the most sophisticated bad actors.
OpenAI stated in the January 15 paper. blog post It announced that it is taking steps to prevent misuse and abuse of its AI technology in future global elections. The company is actively anticipating and preventing potential exploits like deepfakes, the post said.
