Deepfake Tech at Defcon 2024 video [CNET]

Senior Security Reporter, Bree Fowler, investigates cutting edge deepfake tech.

So how good are deep fakes these days? It turns out pretty good to get a look at some of the latest in deep fake tech. I traveled to Las Vegas for the Defcon conference which brings together tens of thousands of computer hackers and other cyber security professionals. Each year, the conference is made up of several villages that cover everything from social engineering to lock picking aviation security and of course artificial intelligence. It was at the A I village that I met Brandon Kovacs, a top red teamer with the cybersecurity company, Bishop Fox using just a gaming computer A DS LR camera, a green screen and some basic studio lighting along with a few fun wigs and other props. He and his A I model were able to create some pretty convincing deep fakes, willing volunteers were turned into everyone from his coworker to politicians. And I watched as the A I transformed me first into Keanu Reeves and then Jackie Chan, later I got a chance to play with the software myself, tweaking the face swapping software. So the digital mask of the deep fake fit perfectly over the person being transformed. Kovac says the idea behind the demonstration is to show people that deep fakes are out there as well as create examples that A I models use for deep fake detection can learn from.