U.S. companies are grappling with an alarming trend: the emergence of fake job seekers using advanced deepfake technology to infiltrate the workforce. Ivan X is an amazing Russian hacker. He now personifies that threat, having recently taken up a new position as senior engineer at Pindrop Security. AI-generated applicant profiles and deepfake technologies—once the realms of science fiction—are quickly changing the hiring landscape. This development is to the grave peril of all human resource managers and business executives out there.
Since then, deepfake technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, it’s becoming impossible for employers to know whether potential employees are real. According to research and advisory firm Gartner, by 2028, all job candidates will be fakes. This statistic highlights how critical it is for businesses to implement strong identity verification standards to protect against identity fraud.
Ivan X’s case exposes the subtle pitfalls employers encounter in this brave, new world of hiring. Pindrop Security has more than 300 corporate clients across finance, technology and healthcare industries. They employed an AI-based video authentication tool to expose Ivan X as a deepfake scam artist. During his interview, Ivan’s facial expressions were slightly misaligned with his spoken words, a subtle but telling sign that prompted further investigation.
“We are no longer able to trust our eyes and ears,” – Balasubramaniyan
The consequences of such fictions go well beyond identity theft. Ivan X allegedly installed malware designed to demand ransom from the company or steal critical customer data and trade secrets. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is aware of this incident. They are now actively bringing cases against North Korean IT workers who enriched the regime by using stolen American identities to apply for remote work. These workers increasingly relied on remote networks and other methods to obscure their true locations. This tactic serves to further complicate the hiring process for businesses.
In response to the discouraging trend, Lili Infante, founder and CEO of CAT Labs, has put her foot down. Her firm works with identity-verification services such as iDenfy, Jumio, and Socure to weed out fraudulent applicants from the hiring process. In fact, Infante told us that her company was just flooded with these questionable applications.
“Every time we list a job posting, we get 100 North Korean spies applying to it,” – Infante
With the increase of fictitious candidates, many organizations have forced these companies to reconsider their hiring practices. Now, they need to figure out how to operate in an environment where human error too often undermines cybersecurity. USDA cybersecurity expert Sesser drives home this key reality. Since hiring is often a collective decision among many stakeholders and a complex process rife with bubbles, the opportunity for blind spots abounds.
“Humans are generally the weak link in cybersecurity, and the hiring process is an inherently human process with a lot of hand-offs and a lot of different people involved,” – Sesser
Grimes, another industry analyst, noted that while some fraudulent candidates may perform poorly in their roles, others can be remarkably convincing. This variability further complicates the hiring process.
“Sometimes they’ll do the role poorly, and then sometimes they perform it so well that I’ve actually had a few people tell me they were sorry they had to let them go,” – Grimes
The costs of not being able to identify fraudulent job seekers are high. Today, companies stand to lose sensitive data and endure huge financial consequences if they are duped into hiring criminals like Ivan X. If you listen to experts, technology changes every day. As its definition evolves, so too do the tactics employed by those trying to take advantage of cracks in the hiring process.
Balasubramaniyan further highlighted that with recent advances in generative AI, the line between human and machine has become completely blurred. This evolution poses unprecedented challenges for employers. In doing so, they must adopt new technologies as a key partner in their recruitment.
“Gen AI has blurred the line between what it is to be human and what it means to be machine,” – Balasubramaniyan
As organizations continue to adapt to these challenges, they must prioritize comprehensive training for hiring personnel and invest in the latest identification technologies. Video authentication programs and identity verification tools like KYC are vital for safeguarding companies. They are often the first line of defense against increasingly sophisticated financial scams.
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