Key Takeaways: 

  • A new Ponemon Institute survey of 586 U.S. security practitioners reveals that the most common deepfakes impersonate executives’ trusted entities and urgent demands for payments or information about a detected security breach.
  • 54% of respondents said deepfakes are one of the most worrying uses of artificial intelligence (AI). In comparison, 42% said their executives and board members have been targeted at least once by a fake image or video.
  • Survey participants identified the serious financial consequences of deepfakes and cybersecurity attacks on the company and executives as the costs for staff to respond to the attack, detect, identify, and remediate the breach, and recover the organization’s reputation.
  • Respondents stated that their visibility into erroneous activity is poor, and they have low confidence that an executive could identify a deepfake attack that has targeted or is targeting them.

Orlando, FL – April 22, 2025—Ponemon Institute announced today a new research report, Deepfake Deception: How AI Harms the Fortunes and Reputation of Executives and Corporations. The report exposes the heightening threat of deepfake risks that target vulnerable business leaders and board members and the serious consequences of such attacks.

Sponsored by BlackCloak, a leader in Digital Executive Protection, the study, conducted independently by Ponemon, surveyed 586 security professionals in the U.S. who understand deepfake risks. More than half (54%) of respondents said that deepfakes are a top worry about AI uses, with slightly less (42%) reporting that a fake image or video has targeted their executives and board members. Furthermore, two-thirds (66%) said it is highly likely that a future deepfake will target their executives. 

To protect business leaders from this emerging threat, 53% of survey participants said technologies that enable executives to verify the identity and authentication of messages they receive are critical.

“Our new study highlights a few concerning trends,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman of the Ponemon Institute. “More organizations are experiencing the impact of deepfake threats, an alarming use of AI that many expect to worsen in the months ahead. These attacks impact many aspects of business, and the costs to organizations are potentially significant. 

“As personal attacks against executives and their family members increase, organizations are ill-equipped to combat such attacks. To address this issue, they are dedicating more resources to safeguard their leaders and prevent such threats,” he continued. “Most respondents said they will look to technologies that verify a sender’s identity and message authenticity to protect against this costly threat.”

Deepfakes and Personal Cyberattacks Require a Zero-Trust Mindset

The Ponemon study revealed a few crucial themes related to deepfakes and cyberattacks on businesses. Such themes include:

  1. Deepfake risks are targeting vulnerable board members and executives.
    The two types of deepfakes of most significant concern are social impostors (53% of respondents) and financial fraud (37% of respondents). According to 56% of respondents, a zero-trust mindset is essential to distinguish between authentic and fake messages.
  2. Deepfakes and cybersecurity threats result in serious consequences.
    The top two metrics for cyberattacks against executives are the cost of staff time (62% of respondents) and the cost to detect, identify, and remediate the breach (51% of respondents).
  3. As attacks against executives and family members increase, organizations increase resources to prevent cyberattacks against executives.
    48% of respondents said their organizations incorporate the risk of cyberthreats against executives in their personal lives, especially high-profile individuals, in their cyber, IT, and physical security strategies and budget. Additionally, 44% of organizations reported having a team dedicated to preventing and/or responding to cyber or privacy attacks against executives and their families. These numbers compare to 42% and 38%, respectively, just two years ago.

“Deepfakes are a growing threat costing businesses huge sums of money,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak. “Corporate executives are not typically cybersecurity experts, and are ill-equipped to take necessary steps to safeguard themselves and their families. Fortunately, new tools are coming to market that enable business leaders and their family members to verify the authenticity of messages they receive through all types of communications. These solutions can help stop the rising current of deepfake attacks by breaking the key links in the scam and help companies and their executives protect themselves and the bottom line.”

To download a copy of the Ponemon report, visit https://blackcloak.io/2025-ponemon-report-deepfake-deception/. 

 

About Ponemon Institute

Advancing Responsible Information Management 

Ponemon Institute is dedicated to independent research and education that advances responsible information and privacy management practices within business and government.  Our mission is to conduct high-quality, empirical studies on critical issues affecting the management and security of sensitive information about people and organizations. 

We uphold strict data confidentiality, privacy and ethical research standards.  We do not collect any personally identifiable information from individuals (or company identifiable information in our business research). Furthermore, we have strict quality standards to ensure that subjects are not asked extraneous, irrelevant or improper questions. For more information, visit ponemon.org. 

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution that includes mobile and desktop apps and concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals gain complete peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats from executives without invading their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io and follow us on LinkedIn.

 

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