Cybercriminals are becoming more advanced in the modern online world and one of the most popular types of attacks is the whaling attack. They are very specific like whaling attacks, unlike phishing ones with a broad net which tries to gain access to low and mid-range executives. The goal? To fool them into providing some secret information or investing huge amounts of money.
Due to the emergence of deepfake technology, whaling attacks have been made even more persuasive and threatening. In this article, we are going to know more about whaling attack, some of the real life examples of whaling attack and how whaling attacks can be claimed through deep fake detection parameters and other advance tools.
What is Whaling Attack?
Whaling scam An attack on a high-profile target manager or executive, also classified as a spear-phishing campaign, includes all elements of spear-phishing, but may also include personal or sensitive information about the target and is often used to coerce the target to transfer money or share other sensitive data. All these attacks are well-prepared with references to public information (e.g. LinkedIn or websites of companies) to make emails, video or even telephone calls look real.
The term, whaling, is based on the premise that the hackers are targeting the big fish, the people who have great influence and can provide key resources of a company.
The Whaling Attacks Process Whaling attacks work in a similar way to phishing attacks in that they both use a combination of social engineering and technical means to commit the act of access and swindle.
Any whaling raid may resemble the following sort:
A CEO opens an email that seems to be sent by a familiar business partner or (another) business executive.
The message can contain a fake invoice or some justification to make a bank transfer.
In more sophisticated instances, hackers resort to an AI-generated voice or video, known as deepfakes, to impersonate an executive.
These attacks are based on trust, haste and impersonation. The ultimate targets are normally people in positions who can change the decisions that are made, hence, an effective whaling assault can disastrously hurt an entity financially and reputationally.
Examples of Real-World Whaling Attack
Path Films Case (2018): Two managers in the Dutch part of the Path Films Company followed the instructions and sent more than 20 million dollars to the criminal indeed, presenting as a company CEO, using an email spoofing technique. The assailants made the executives believe that the transfer was over an acquisition that was confidential.
Scoular Company Incident (2014): The agricultural company lost 17.2 million dollars on a whaling assault. The CFO got emails resembling those of the CEO, asking him to send funds in a secret acquisition deal in China.
Deepfake CEO Voice Case (2019): That was one of the first publicly reported examples of deepfake technology being used to commit a crime, as in this case criminals used AI to replicate the voice of a CEO and tricked an employee to send them 243,000 dollars.
These are only a few examples of whaling attacks, proving the effectiveness and the cost of such scams, which can use synthetic media.
How Deepfake Technology was used in the Whaling Attacks of Today
The even more dangerous new layer of cyberattacks involved deepfake technology to create believable audio-video simulations of real individuals with the help of AI. Now, the cybercriminals can use the technology to make video calls or voice messages that would appear and sound like genuine executives.
This implies that even an experienced employee might have troubles identifying fraud when the request apparently implies a familiar voice or face.
Whaling attacks along with deepfake technology have led to a metamorphosis of phishing frauds and it is no longer a crude correspondence similar to text but is a multimedia-based pseudo identification.
The Benefits of Deepfake Detection How Deepfake Detection Can Help
On the positive side, threats keep mutating and so do the defenses. Detection tools to check deepfake are also gaining relevance to block AI-related whaling fraudsters. These technologies make use of AI to interpret facial micro-expressions and audio discrepancy, data disparities in real-time video and audio feeds.
Other systems provide deepfake online detection capabilities that enable companies to scan the content received with online monitors or instruments (videos, voice messages, or even live video calls) in search of signs of manipulation. It is important to incorporate such tools into your security framework so as to authenticate identities and curb fraud via identity impersonation.
Whaling Attack Protection: Ways to Keep Your Business Safe
To ensure that your organization is not attacked by whalers you should employ a multi-level security mechanism. These are some of the important strategies:
1. Employee Training
Train everyone, particularly the top leadership on the indicators of whaling attacks.
Undertake simulated phishing tests on a regular basis.
Train your staff not to believe unreceived monetary demands, even if these requests seem one of the company.
2. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Check requests sensitive in nature using an alternative channel of communication such as a phone call or physical meeting.
3. Integration of Deepfake Detection Deepfake
Find deepfake software on the internet to scan video calls and emails and detect AI-generated content.
Install the AI tools that will set flags on abnormal voice pitch, facial expression or digital footprint.
4. Email Authentication
Avail of anti-spoofing protocols such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
5. Access Controls
Make less important people have less access to sensitive information and financial systems.
Make sure that financial transactions need authorization by many people.
Conclusion
The risk of whaling attacks is on the increase especially with the emergence of deepfake technology. These attacks depend on human confidences and business hierarchal set up to carry out frauds that may run into millions of dollars. The good news? Awareness, training, and the target technologies, such as deepfake detection and online deepfake detection toolkits, will help you determine your risk largely.
This is because AI-driven fraud is an ever-evolving phenomenon; therefore, the only focus that can ensure one remains one step ahead is to be aware and active. You protect your business will empower your employee and do not allow the whales to become the prey.
