According to a report released by Recorded Future, deepfake attacks are on the rise and are expected to surge in the near future. Deepfakes have been a topic of concern for cybersecurity professionals as they have the ability to bypass biometric security protections, trick users into believing fraudulent material, commit identity theft, blackmail, and create social engineering-based attacks. Deepfakes are highly convincing, doctored videos that are touted as legitimate.

An uptick in deepfake technology and service offering across the Dark Web was the first sign of a new wave of fraud, according to Recorded Future. The technology can be utilized to cater to a range of goals and interests, and in the wrong hands, they can cause massive amounts of damage. Recorded Future reported that within the next few years, both criminal and nation-state threat actors will gravitate towards the use of deepfakes, likely spreading them throughout social media or utilizing them as a political disinformation tactic.