Hackers Targeted a $12 Billion Cybersecurity Company With a Deepfake of Its CEO. Here's Why Small Details Made It Unsuccessful.

Wiz, a cybersecurity startup valued astatine $12 billion, precocious knowledgeable a deepfake onslaught that was thwarted because labor knew really the CEO usually speaks.

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport explained at TechCrunch Disrupt connected Monday that hackers manipulated audio of his sound and sent a sound connection to dozens of his squad members to bargain login credentials. The credential-based attack, if successful, would person allowed the hackers to summation entree to Wiz's soul systems and bargain its data.

Even though deepfake audio has go much convincing, Rappaport's squad knew the connection was clone because it was based connected a clip of the CEO giving a reside — and that is not really he speaks successful his regular life.

Wiz labor cognize that their CEO has nationalist speaking anxiety, truthful location was a clear quality betwixt really he communicated during the reside and really he usually talks.

"That's really they were capable to say, 'That doesn't sound for illustration Assaf,'" Rappaport said.

Assaf Rappaport. Photo Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Deepfake audio scams person proliferated recently, going each the measurement up to the highest levels of an organization. In May, the world's biggest advertizing company, WPP, knowledgeable a deepfake onslaught involving the sound and look of the firm's CEO.

The hackers went arsenic acold arsenic coordinating a Microsoft Teams gathering and created a deepfake of the CEO to "attend." They aimed to solicit money and summation individual accusation from the call. The attackers weren't successful successful this case, either.

A survey released past week by cybersecurity institution Regula shows that successful 2024, half of each world companies person been taxable to audio and video deepfake attacks. Moreover, 66% of business leaders said that deepfakes are a superior consequence to their companies.

Related: Executives astatine the World's Largest Advertising Company Scammed Using Deepfake of Company CEO