Broadcasting
Deepfakes: The Next Human Vulnerability for Businesses?
By Ben Jacob, Tech Lead EMEA, Sophos Red Team at Sophos
Synthetic audio and video generation technologies, known as deepfakes, have reached a critical threshold. Once mostly limited to social media entertainment or occasional political manipulation, they are now fully integrated tools in cyberattack tactics. This shift represents more than a technological evolution; it marks a transformation where human perception itself has become an attack surface. Recognizing a familiar voice or face is no longer a guarantee of authenticity.
In this context, businesses face a threat that relies less on raw technical skill and more on subtle manipulation of human behavior. Fraud campaigns now exploit cloned voices and manipulated videos to simulate authentic communications, deceiving even the most vigilant employees. In February 2024, an employee at a Hong Kong multinational transferred €24 million after being duped by a deepfake. The scam succeeded because everything appeared authentic: accent, rhythm, tone… The widespread availability of these tools, thanks to their low cost and accessibility, accelerates the industrialization of such attacks.
A technological threat turned human
Attack simulations conducted with international organizations show that deepfakes are no longer a futuristic hypothesis but an established reality. A 2024 Anozr Way report projected deepfakes could increase from 500,000 in 2023 to 8 million in 2025. Deepfakes exploit a rarely anticipated cybersecurity vulnerability: our instinctive trust in human interactions. Cloned voices impersonate executives; videos generated from public content are embedded in credible scenarios to deceive experienced staff. Beyond technical sophistication, the industrialization of these practices is what should raise alarm.
Voice cloning now requires only a few seconds of publicly available audio, often available via public media such as YouTube or TikTok, allows artificial voices to be generated within minutes at low cost. These voices are then used in automated campaigns, including mass phone calls conducted by conversational agents simulating convincing human interaction. This paradigm shift moves the attack vector from IT systems to human behavior, exploiting trust, urgency, and voice recognition.
Identity: the new attack surface
Across recent breaches, including those impacting M&S and JLR, we are witnessing a clear shift in attacker behavior. Adversaries no longer “hack in”, they simply “log in”. They obtain valid credentials through phishing, vishing, and social engineering campaigns, then use them to operate under the radar of traditional defenses. Deepfakes now extend this pattern by enabling the theft and imitation of identity itself. A cloned voice or AI-generated face can bypass skepticism, convincing employees they are interacting with a trusted colleague or executive.
Identity has become the primary currency of access. As organizations strengthen their technical controls, attackers increasingly exploit human trust as the easiest route inside. This convergence of social engineering and AI-driven impersonation means the next wave of attacks won’t just target vulnerabilities in IT systems, they’ll target people.
Awareness, doubt, and verification: the new pillars of cybersecurity
Most companies have focused cybersecurity efforts on protecting systems and data. However, with deepfakes, humans become the entry point. These attacks exploit a major gap in current cybersecurity: the lack of verification reflexes in voice and video communications. While most organizations run phishing awareness campaigns via email, awareness of deepfakes remains minimal. Unlike phishing, now well understood, falsified calls or video conferences remain largely underestimated. The realism of deepfakes, especially under stress or urgency, obscures subtle cues that could raise alarms.
Detection depends on noticing small inconsistencies such as timing delays or slightly robotic speech, signs that are easy to miss during a busy day. Organizations need to establish verification practices that go beyond technical controls. This includes contextual questions that only legitimate colleagues would know, answers that change regularly (e.g., “When did we last meet?”), or confirmation through secondary channels. “Trust but verify” has long been a motto in cybersecurity, but identity-based attacks such as deepfakes make it more relevant than ever.
“Robocalls,” already widely used to target individuals with daily AI-driven calls, can also be exploited by adversaries for illegitimate purposes. Here too, slight timing delays and intonation are key indicators to identify.
Therefore, team awareness can no longer be limited to email. It must include these new scenarios, train employees to recognize manipulations, and foster a culture of systematic verification. Trust must no longer be implicit, even when it seems natural.
The threat of deepfakes can no longer be seen as a technological curiosity or niche risk. It fundamentally challenges how companies manage trust, decision traceability, and communication security. Organizations must integrate these concerns into governance: crisis simulations, verification protocols, redundant information channels, and continuous training. More than a technological response, this requires an organizational, cognitive, and cultural approach. Against a digital illusion that relies on familiarity, only active vigilance can prevent the next attack from coming… through the CEO’s voice.
Mr. Charles Ebuebu, director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has called on Nigerian content creators to actively participate in the country’s Digital Switchover (DSO), describing the transition as a major opportunity for visibility, revenue growth, and industry collaboration.
Mr. Charles Ebuebu, DG, NBC
Speaking as Special Guest of Honour at the induction ceremony of the Electronic Media Content Owners Association of Nigeria (EMCOAN) in Lagos, Ebuebu stressed that the success of the DSO depends on engaging content to populate the nation’s new digital channels.
“Without content, the DSO’s success would be incomplete. We are urging content owners to collaborate with the Commission to ensure Nigeria’s digital future is rich, diverse, and sustainable,” he said.
The NBC boss highlighted that the upcoming FreeTV Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform, along with its mobile applications, would provide content creators with nationwide reach, advanced analytics, and brand partnership opportunities.
Nigeria’s DSO, which marks the shift from analogue to digital broadcasting, is being implemented by the NBC using the Nigcomsat satellite infrastructure. The programme aims to deliver over 100 nationwide channels and expand access to Nigerians in remote areas via hybrid decoders, addressing long-standing infrastructure and funding challenges. The project, which has experienced delays since 2012, now has strong government backing and is scheduled for launch in April 2026.
Ebuebu commended EMCOAN members for their contributions to strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy and encouraged them to leverage the opportunities offered by the DSO to promote local stories, culture, and creativity on both national and global stages.
During the ceremony, EMCOAN honoured its distinguished members, naming Wale Adenuga, MFR, as Grand Patron and Mr. Yinka Adebayo as Patron.
Prominent figures in the broadcasting content industry, including Wale Adenuga, Opa Williams, Agatha Amata, Jibe Ologeh, High Chief Emeka Ossai, Debbie Odetayo, Amina Mohammed, and Frank Elaboya, attended the event.
Representing the NBC at the event was Mr. Ralph Akpan, director of the Lagos Zone, while EMCOAN president, Mr. Adeniji Omirin, MD of ADNOM Media, urged members to fully engage in the digital switchover.
Canal+ is to cut jobs at MultiChoice as part of a sweeping restructuring plan aimed at stabilising the African pay-TV operator, following years of operational and financial pressure.
The move comes alongside a planned $115 million capital injection, underscoring the urgency of efforts to revive the business after the French media group took control.
The planned layoffs are expected to form a core element of a broader cost-cutting and efficiency drive, as Canal+ seeks to streamline MultiChoice’s operations and improve profitability.
The restructuring signals a shift toward leaner operations, with a focus on eliminating redundancies and optimising the company’s cost base.
MultiChoice has struggled in recent years with declining subscriber numbers across key African markets, weighed down by macroeconomic pressures, currency volatility, and changing consumer behaviour.
The rise of global streaming platforms has intensified competition, chipping away at the company’s traditional pay-TV dominance.
Canal+’s intervention marks a pivotal moment for MultiChoice, reflecting a more aggressive approach to repositioning the business.
By combining fresh capital with structural reforms, the new owners are aiming to both stabilise short-term performance and lay the groundwork for longer-term growth.
The $115 million injection is expected to provide immediate financial relief, supporting operations and potential strategic initiatives.
However, the accompanying job cuts highlight the depth of the challenges facing the company and the scale of transformation required to restore competitiveness.
Nigeria has ranked first globally in the ownership of the two largest stablecoins, Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), reflecting the country’s growing reliance on dollar-linked digital assets.
USDT, USDC
Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are designed to maintain a fixed value against the U.S. dollar, allowing users to store money digitally while avoiding the price volatility associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
According to the 2026 Stablecoin Utility Report released by BVNK, about 59 percent of Nigerian crypto users hold USDT, while 48 percent own USDC, giving the country the highest combined ownership rate among all nations surveyed.
The report placed Nigeria ahead of several major economies, including Australia and India, highlighting the country’s strong adoption of dollar-denominated digital assets. Australia ranked second with 34 percent USDT ownership and 29 percent USDC, while India placed third with 30 percent USDT and 27 percent USDC holdings.
The study also examined adoption levels across other regions. Countries such as Colombia and Singapore showed strong usage of both stablecoins, while adoption levels were also notable in South Africa and the United States.
Other markets included in the analysis were Philippines, Thailand and Argentina, where stablecoin ownership has also increased significantly. Among European economies, the report said France and Germany showed moderate levels of adoption, while Latin American markets such as Mexico and Brazil recorded smaller but growing usage rates.
The United Kingdom also appeared in the ranking with modest levels of stablecoin ownership. The report noted that USDT ownership exceeds USDC in many countries, including Nigeria, Australia, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Argentina and France.
However, USDC is often viewed as a more compliance-focused stablecoin because of its stronger transparency and regulatory alignment. In some markets, including South Africa, Colombia, Germany and Brazil, the report found that USDC adoption slightly exceeds USDT.
More broadly, the data suggests that stablecoin adoption is being driven largely by emerging economies rather than advanced financial markets. According to the report, countries such as Nigeria, Argentina and the Philippines are among the biggest users of stablecoins, where people increasingly rely on dollar-pegged digital assets to protect savings from currency volatility and facilitate cross-border payments.
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