Deepfakes have evolved from a novelty into a tool for information warfare, and the threat extends beyond the videos themselves. As artificial intelligence makes it easier to fabricate convincing audio, video and images, a troubling phenomenon is emerging: the ability to dismiss authentic evidence as fake. Security experts call this the "liar's dividend," and it represents a fundamental threat to how democracies function.

Why Are Deepfakes Becoming a National Security Crisis?

Recent incidents demonstrate how quickly deepfake technology has moved from theoretical risk to operational weapon. In 2025, a fake voice resembling Secretary of State Marco Rubio was used to contact foreign officials and U.S. political leaders. Another case involved the compromise of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' phone, which attackers used to send messages and place calls in her name. A 2024 robocall campaign deployed an AI-generated version of former President Joe Biden's voice to discourage voter participation in New Hampshire's presidential primary.

These incidents underscore a shift in how adversaries operate. Rather than simply spreading false information, attackers are now using deepfakes to impersonate trusted figures, manipulate public perception and disrupt democratic processes. The sophistication of AI-generated media is making it increasingly difficult for people to distinguish authentic content from manipulated material, creating opportunities for strategic deception at scale.

What Makes the "Liar's Dividend" So Dangerous?

The "liar's dividend" describes a paradoxical problem: as deepfakes become more common and realistic, people lose confidence in their ability to verify anything. When someone can claim "that's a deepfake" in response to authentic evidence, the entire concept of verification breaks down. This phenomenon threatens the foundation of institutional trust that democracies depend on.

Industry data shows a sharp rise in deepfake activity in recent years, and research indicates that many individuals struggle to reliably distinguish AI-generated content from genuine media. The problem extends across sectors. Business users with access to financial systems are now vulnerable to voice-clone attacks against IT help desks, synthetic candidates applying for remote jobs to gain insider access, and deepfake finance scams.

How Can Organizations Defend Against Deepfakes and AI-Generated Threats?

• Implement Liveness Checks and Verification Protocols: For high-stakes communications involving money, credentials or sensitive access, organizations should require liveness checks, code words for verification and recorded confirmation for wire transfers or access changes. Voice and video alone are no longer sufficient trust signals.
• Deploy Real-Time Detection Technology: New integrations between cybersecurity firms and deepfake detection specialists are making real-time content verification more accessible. These tools analyze images, video and voice to flag AI-generated or manipulated content before it spreads.
• Treat AI Systems as Security Targets: Organizations must recognize that their own AI systems can become targets for prompt injection attacks, where malicious instructions are hidden in documents, emails or web pages that AI systems later read. AI agents with credentials and permissions need inventory, scoping, rotation and revocation like any other identity.
• Establish Identity and Access Controls: Phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, short-lived credentials, just-in-time access and continuous access evaluation form the foundation of AI-era defense. Privileged accounts should be separated from daily-driver accounts with dedicated administrative workstations.
• Maintain Visibility Before Control: Organizations should prioritize discovering what AI agents exist in their environment, what data they can access and what credentials they use. Waiting until agent numbers grow makes it harder to untangle dependencies and remove identities later.

One emerging approach focuses on detection technology that exclusively identifies AI-generated content without building generative models itself. This avoids the conflict of interest that affects vendors who both generate and detect synthetic media. Such tools are becoming available to digital service providers as part of broader security suites, making trustworthy, real-time content verification more accessible beyond enterprise specialists.

"A video, a voice message, a photo; things people once trusted instinctively can now be fabricated in minutes. Consumers are increasingly being targeted with manipulated content, and service providers need tools that address those threats too," said Dimi Vellikok, Senior Vice President of Product Engagement at F-Secure.

Dimi Vellikok, Senior Vice President of Product Engagement at F-Secure

What Role Does AI Play in Defense?

Paradoxically, AI itself is becoming part of the solution. Security teams cannot scale human-only analysis to keep pace with AI-accelerated attacks. Defenders are using AI to help triage and investigate threats, correlate risk signals and identify patterns that would overwhelm human analysts. However, this requires treating AI agents as identities that need governance, not as invisible background infrastructure.

The broader shift reflects a fundamental change in how organizations must approach security. Attackers using generative AI can now operate faster, at greater scale and with higher believability than before. Reconnaissance and lures can drop from days to minutes. One operator can run thousands of personalized campaigns. Grammar and voice are no longer reliable warning signs. This means defenders must extend existing security programs to account for AI-era threats, not replace them entirely.

"Addressing the growing threat will require cooperation among government agencies, technology providers, media organizations and the public," noted Shawn Roslin, Vice President of SOC's National Intelligence Division and International Programs.

Shawn Roslin, Vice President of SOC's National Intelligence Division and International Programs

Federal agencies have previously warned about these risks. In 2023, the National Security Agency, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued joint guidance outlining how deepfakes could be used to impersonate executives, compromise organizations and gain access to sensitive information. As AI-generated content becomes more realistic and accessible, the ability to verify information and identify manipulated media will become increasingly important to protecting public trust and national security.