A video of bunnies bouncing on a backyard trampoline racked up 203 million views on TikTok. Shot in grainy nighttime footage that looked exactly like Ring doorbell camera surveillance, complete with squeaking springs and crickets chirping in the background. People smiled, shared, and moved on. But the bunnies weren’t real. The trampoline wasn’t real. The entire video was AI-generated, and so convincing that millions of viewers never questioned it, until a few savvy people pointed out some tell-tale signs.
Comments poured in. “This is the first AI that has ever got me.” Another admitted, “A few years ago, I was laughing at my mother for believing AI.”
While adorable fake bunnies are harmless, the same technology is now being weaponized against businesses, posing much greater risks.
In early 2024, a finance worker at global engineering firm Arup joined what seemed like a routine video conference with the company’s CFO and several colleagues. The voices sounded right. The faces looked normal. When asked to process urgent wire transfers, the employee complied. By the time the fraud was discovered, more than $25 million had been sent to scammers.
This kind of attack is happening right now to companies like yours, across every industry. To help you stay ahead, let’s look at how to spot these fakes, understand their impact, and see how partnering with experienced IT support in Calgary can keep you protected.
The Rise of Deepfakes, and Why Your Businesses Should Care
Let’s start with the basics. A deepfake is a video, audio recording, or image that has been manipulated or entirely created using artificial intelligence. Tools like generative AI, voice cloning software, and video synthesis programs can now fabricate incredibly realistic content, that makes people appear to say or do things that never actually happened.
These deepfakes pose an immediate threat to your business, risking your profits in the short term and your long-term business continuity, too.
You might think your team is covered because you conduct cybersecurity awareness training, and your people know about phishing emails and suspicious links. But deepfakes are a different challenge. This isn’t about spotting typos in strange emails anymore. Now, you can watch your CFO’s face and hear their voice so accurately portrayed that it’s much more difficult to determine if it’s fake.
Here’s how these attacks show up:
- Business email compromise 2.0: Instead of just a spoofed email address, attackers now send fake executive messages with realistic video or audio from someone you know. If you get a video message from an executive saying: “I’m traveling and need you to urgently process this payment. Here’s a quick video explaining why.” Suddenly, that request feels legitimate in a way a text email never could.
- Investor or partner misinformation: Imagine a fabricated video of your leadership being circulated to customers or investors, where they make false statements about your financial performance, upcoming partnerships, or strategic direction. Your reputation could be damaged before you even know the video exists.
- Internal disruption: Picture being on a video call with your IT manager discussing security protocols, only to realize it’s not actually them. It’s an impersonator attempting to extract sensitive information during what feels like a normal meeting.
As AI tools become more accessible and attacks increase, the business impact is staggering, with experts estimating that disinformation costs the global economy $78 billion each year,
How to Spot an AI-Generated Video
Here’s some good news. While deepfakes are getting better quickly, they are not perfect yet. Think of it like learning to spot counterfeit money. If you know what to look for, you can spot them before they cause harm.
To help you hone your detection skills, here are a few things to look out for when encountering video content online:
Visual Signs
AI is good at making realistic faces, but it still struggles with the small, natural movements that make us human. Watch for these signs:
- Subtle facial flickers or unnatural eye movement
- Inconsistent lighting or shadows that don’t match the rest of the environment
- Lips slightly out of sync with words. Even a small delay between mouth movement and speech is a red flag.
- Irregular blinking, teeth that look too perfect, or unnatural hairline patterns
- Overly smooth or “perfect” skin texture. Real human skin has pores, textures, and imperfections. If someone looks heavily filtered, be suspicious.
Audio Signs
The audio in a video can reveal important clues about whether the content is AI-generated:
- A voice that sounds flat or emotionless, lacking natural human expression
- Mismatched background noise, clipped breathing sounds, or echo that doesn’t match what you see
- AI-generated audio often lacks natural rhythm and may show robotic cadence, awkward pacing, or mispronounce names, technical terms, or company jargon that it hasn’t been trained on.
Behavioral and Contextual Signs
Sometimes the biggest red flag is not what you see or hear. It’s the story the video is trying to sell you. Look for clues like:
- Odd timing. If you received an urgent request for money, data, or access that came out of nowhere, slow down and verify.
- Messages that break normal company protocol. If your CFO has never sent you a video message before, why would they start now with a six-figure wire transfer request?
- Lack of verifiable source. Can you confirm this came from an official channel or call the person back at a known number?
- Strange camera angles or low-resolution video calls. These are often used intentionally to hide imperfections in the deepfake.
How Your IT Support Provider Can Help Protect Against Deepfake Risks
You and your team have enough responsibilities already, so you shouldn’t have to become deepfake detection experts yourself. Working with a skilled managed IT services provider who provides IT support for Calgary businesses can make a real difference in staying ahead of these threats.
User Education and Awareness
Your team is your first line of defense, but they need the right cybersecurity awareness training to know what to watch for, not just the usual “don’t click suspicious links” presentations.
A good IT support provider offers engaging end-user awareness training that covers emerging threats such as deepfakes and other evolving cyberthreats. They help your team understand not just what to look for but also provide clear action steps about what to do when they see something suspicious.
Policy and Governance
You need clear policies around AI use and verification procedures, but creating them from scratch? That’s overwhelming when you’re trying to run a business.
Your IT partner can help you develop practical internal guidelines for integrating AI safely into your business. These could cover everything from what AI tools your team can use, approval processes for sensitive requests, verification steps before acting on video or audio communications, and escalation procedures when something seems off.
You can also rely on your IT provider to offer guidance on data privacy, compliance, and risk assessment specific to your industry.
Layered Cybersecurity
Spotting deepfakes is one aspect of prevention, but the most effective defense is a comprehensive approach that includes multiple layers of protection working together:
- Strengthened identity and access controls: Multi-factor authentication and advanced verification tools make it significantly harder for attackers to impersonate your team or access sensitive systems. They add extra layers of proof—beyond just a password—so even if one credential is compromised, unauthorized access is still blocked.
- Advanced email and endpoint protection: Modern systems catch threats before they reach your inbox or devices, stopping many attacks at the door.
- AI-driven threat detection: Yes, you can use AI to fight AI! Today’s security systems can spot synthetic or unusual behavior patterns that people might miss. Improving your cybersecurity is not about building a single wall; it is about creating multiple checkpoints that work together.
- Incident response plans: If a deepfake attack does happen, you have a clear, tested strategy to investigate and contain it, as well as recover your systems and data. No need to scramble or stress!
Secure Your Resources with PC Corp’s IT Support
Cybersecurity can feel overwhelming, when deepfakes are just the latest in a long list of threats that can keep business owners up at night.
You don’t have to handle this alone. With the right partner, you can stay ahead of these threats. Your team can learn to spot the red flags. You can fortify your systems. And you can sleep easier knowing you’ve got knowledgeable people watching your back.
Our managed IT services and cybersecurity solutions are made for businesses like yours, companies that need strong security without a large IT department. You can offload the technical work, get ongoing training for your team, and stay on top of new threats like deepfakes so you can focus on running your business.
Want to strengthen your defenses against deepfakes and other new cyber threats? Connect with us to get the peace of mind you deserve.
