Lesson 5.13: Deepfakes, pretexting and physical attacks
Some attacks don't come through the network at all. AI-generated voices and faces make a 'CFO' on a video call convincing; a confident visitor in a hi-vis vest walks in behind an employee; a USB stick labelled 'Salaries 2027' is left in the car park. All rely on the same human reactions, and all are defeated by process: verification through a known channel, no tailgating, and never plugging in unknown media. In the lab you investigate a tailgating incident with badge and camera logs, examine a found USB stick safely, and review how finance stopped a deepfake payment request.
17 min
You will learn to
- Explain deepfake-enabled fraud
- Define pretexting, tailgating and baiting
- Correlate badge, camera and visitor logs
- Examine removable media safely
- Describe verification procedures for payments
Key terms
- Deepfake
- AI-generated or altered audio, images or video that imitate a real person.
- Pretexting
- Building a believable story and role to get access or information.
- Tailgating / piggybacking
- Following an authorised person through a secured door.
- Baiting
- Leaving something tempting, such as a USB stick or a free download, for the victim to use.
- Physical access control
- Badges, turnstiles, reception, escorting and cameras that control who enters where.
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