Deepfake-powered malicious digital twins pose threat: study
The report, conducted by Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, further says that more than 188 million threats were blocked in the region during H1 2024 whereas a surge in AI-powered attacks and ransomware tactics is anticipated in 2025.
The report, titled, The Easy Way In/Out: Securing The Artificial Future, further predicts the emergence of malicious 'digital twins', leveraging leaked personal information to create AI models mimicking individuals' behaviours. When paired with deepfake video/audio and compromised biometric data, these twins could drive advanced social engineering scams, such as business e-mail compromise (BEC), fake employee schemes and large-scale misinformation campaigns.
'As cybercrime is projected to cost over $10 trillion in 2025, consumer data is expected to be a prime target, fuelling the underground economy,' Salah Suleiman, Country Director UAE and Oman, Trend Micro, told the Observer.
'Criminals are anticipated to continue evolving their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities, with AI accelerating these efforts to enhance, speed up and improve malicious operations, particularly through social engineering schemes that prey on user vulnerabilities,' Salah said.
The Security Predictions report by the Trend Micro underscores its strong commitment to cybersecurity. This dedication is further evidenced in the Trend Micro Mid-Year Cybersecurity Report for H1 2024, which details how the company's sophisticated solutions successfully detected and blocked over 188.92 million threats in the MENA region.
"The region is a global hub for innovation and economic growth, making cybersecurity a top priority. As part of this dynamic landscape, Oman faces a constantly evolving cyber threat environment that demands proactive defence. With our advanced solutions, we successfully blocked more than 6 million threats during the first half of 2024 in Oman, reinforcing our commitment to protecting businesses and individuals. Our 2025 Security Predictions report highlights the evolving tactics of cybercriminals, providing critical insights that help enterprises stay ahead of emerging threats and strengthen the region's digital resilience," Salah said.
The 2025 Security Predictions Report also highlights critical areas of concern, including vulnerabilities like memory corruption bugs, API exploits, and legacy issues such as cross-site scripting and SQL injections, as well as the cascading risks from vulnerabilities in widely adopted systems like connected vehicle ECUs. In ransomware, threat actors are expected to outpace endpoint detection and response (EDR) advancements by exploiting under-protected environments such as cloud systems, IoT and edge devices, while using techniques like disabling security tools and disguising harmful codes. These developments signal the rise of faster, stealthier and more sophisticated attack chains, underscoring the need for robust, proactive security strategies.
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