Deepfake Pornography: Understanding the Threat and Protecting Your Employees

Deepfake technology now accounts for 40% of all biometric fraud, making it a growing cybersecurity threat. At the same time, 90% of deepfake pornography victims are women, highlighting the gendered nature of this digital abuse. Cybercriminals exploit AI-generated deepfake pornography for blackmail, sextortion, and reputational attacks, targeting employees, executives, and public figures. The consequences can be devastating, both psychologically and professionally, making this issue one that organizations cannot afford to ignore.

In this blog, we’ll explore how deepfakes work, their role in cybercrime, and the risks they pose to businesses. We’ll also examine legal and ethical challenges, along with the best strategies to detect, prevent, and protect against deepfake threats.

What is Deepfake?

A deepfake is an AI-generated video, image, or audio clip that manipulates reality by superimposing a person's likeness onto someone else’s body. The technology uses neural networks such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) to create highly realistic, deceptive media.

The origins of deepfake technology date back to 2017 when an anonymous Reddit user first introduced face-swapping AI tools to create non-consensual celebrity pornography. Since then, deepfake techniques have advanced rapidly, making them more convincing, accessible, and difficult to detect.

Read our article on “What is Deepfake Phishing” for more information.

How Deepfakes Work

Deepfakes use AI to manipulate video and audio, creating realistic but fake content. The main techniques include:

• GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks): Two AI models compete—one generates fakes, the other detects them—constantly improving realism.
• Autoencoders: AI maps and swaps facial features, syncing expressions and lip movements.
• AI Voice Cloning: Replicates a person’s voice from short audio clips, enabling fake calls and messages.

Deepfakes are especially dangerous as they can bypass biometric security and exploit trust in video and audio evidence.

Deepfakes are increasingly being used in phishing attacks, where cybercriminals manipulate video and audio to impersonate trusted individuals. This poses serious risks to businesses and individuals alike.

To better understand how deepfake phishing works and how to defend against it, read Keepnet article: How Deepfake Threaten Your Business?

From Deepfakes to Deepfake Pornography: A Growing Threat

While deepfake technology has applications in entertainment and visual effects, its most alarming use is in non-consensual deepfake pornography. By swapping faces onto explicit content, cybercriminals create highly realistic fake videos that can be used for harassment, blackmail, and reputational attacks.

Deepfake pornography has become the most common type of deepfake content online, disproportionately targeting women. As the technology improves, these manipulated videos become harder to detect, leading to serious consequences for victims, businesses, and society.

The Dark Side of Deepfake Pornography

Deepfake pornography is a powerful tool for digital exploitation, creating convincing yet false evidence that can devastate victims. Once released, these videos spread rapidly across anonymous platforms, making removal and reputational recovery nearly impossible. Let’s delve into how cybercriminals are leveraging deepfake pornography for blackmail, corporate espionage, and social engineering attacks.

Blackmail, Sextortion, and Corporate Espionage

Cybercriminals are using deepfake pornography to blackmail people, demanding money or favors by threatening to share fake explicit videos. Police have seen a rise in sextortion cases, where criminals create fake images and use them to pressure victims.

To discover real cases and understand the true impact of this growing threat, watch Channel 4’s investigation, Deepfake Porn: The UK Celebrity Victims.

In a growing number of cases, deepfake scams are also being used in corporate espionage, where executives and employees are targeted to extract sensitive company data.

Reputational Damage & Workplace Harassment

For many victims, deepfake pornography leads to workplace harassment, career damage, and severe psychological distress. Employees who become targets may find their reputations permanently affected, leading to professional setbacks and even job loss.

Women in leadership, politics, and journalism are often targeted with deepfake pornography to damage their reputation, scare them, or stop them from speaking out.

To see a real case of how deepfake pornography is being used to harm victims, watch BBC Newsnight’s investigation

Social Engineering & Deepfake Phishing Attacks

Deepfake technology has enabled sophisticated phishing attacks, where cybercriminals impersonate executives or HR representatives to manipulate employees into transferring funds or disclosing sensitive data.

A growing trend involves deepfake voice scams, where AI-generated audio mimics a CEO’s voice to trick employees into authorizing fraudulent transactions. Organizations need to be aware of these evolving threats and train employees to recognize deepfake-based fraud.

To see a real case of how deepfakes are being used to harass and manipulate women online, watch this investigation below.

Technology Behind Deepfake Porn

Deepfake pornography relies on advanced AI to create realistic fake videos by swapping faces and mimicking voices. The main technologies driving this include:

• Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): AI systems that refine deepfakes by continuously improving realism.
• Autoencoders: AI that maps facial expressions onto another person’s body, making movements appear natural.
• AI Voice Cloning: Technology that replicates a person’s voice from short audio clips, enabling fake recordings and calls.

As AI tools become more accessible and sophisticated, deepfake porn is easier to produce and harder to detect, making it a growing threat to individuals and businesses.

Ethical and Legal Issues

While some countries have started addressing deepfake pornography, laws remain inconsistent, and enforcement is difficult due to anonymity and the rapid spread of content online.

• United States: No federal ban exists, but states like California allow victims to sue creators and distributors, and Virginia has criminalized the sale and distribution of non-consensual deepfake porn. In 2024, California also made it illegal to create, possess, and distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
• United Kingdom: The UK's Online Safety Act 2023 criminalized the sharing of non-consensual deepfake pornography. In 2024, the government announced plans to expand the law to criminalize the creation of deepfake images intended to cause distress.
• European Union: The AI Act requires AI-generated content, including deepfakes, to be labeled as synthetic media but does not explicitly outlaw deepfake pornography, leaving enforcement to individual member states.
• South Korea: One of the strictest approaches, criminalizing both creation and possession, with significant prison sentences and fines.

Despite these legal measures, deepfake pornography remains difficult to regulate, requiring stronger global laws, better enforcement, and improved AI detection tools.

Detection and Prevention: How to Protect Your Employees Against Deepfate Porn

As deepfake pornography becomes more sophisticated, organizations must take proactive steps to detect and prevent its misuse. Key strategies include:

• AI-Powered Deepfake Detection: Use advanced detection tools that analyze facial inconsistencies, unnatural movements, and audio distortions to identify manipulated media.
• Employee Awareness Training: Educate staff on deepfake threats, phishing scams, and social engineering tactics to help them recognize suspicious content.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Reduce the risk of impersonation attacks by requiring strong identity verification measures for sensitive transactions.
• Clear Reporting Protocols: Establish internal guidelines for employees to report deepfake-related threats, ensuring swift action and mitigation.
• Legal and Content Removal Strategies: Support victims by reporting deepfake content to platforms, filing copyright takedown requests, and seeking legal recourse.

By combining technology, training, and policy enforcement, organizations can minimize risks and protect employees from deepfake exploitation.

How Keepnet’s Human Risk Management Platform Can Help

The growing threat of deepfake pornography and AI-driven scams requires a comprehensive security approach that protects both individuals and organizations. Keepnet’s Human Risk Management Platform provides powerful tools to detect, prevent, and mitigate the risks associated with deepfakes.

• Adaptive Security Awareness Training – Educates employees on deepfake threats, social engineering tactics, and phishing scams, helping them identify and respond to AI-generated fraud.
• AI- driven Phishing Simulations – Tests how employees react to deepfake phishing and voice scams, ensuring they can recognize impersonation attempts before they cause damage.
• Threat Intelligence provides breach details, including dates, affected emails, and compromised data.
• Incident Responder helps security teams detect and neutralize threats 48.6 times faster.
• Automated Reporting & Risk Scoring – Helps businesses assess their vulnerability to deepfake attacks, identifying employees who may need additional training.

By integrating Keepnet’s Human Risk Management Platform, organizations can proactively defend against deepfake threats, safeguard their employees, and strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture.

Deepfake Pornography is a Security Threat, Not Just an Ethical Issue

Deepfake pornography is more than just a privacy concern—it poses a serious cybersecurity risk that can harm businesses, employees, and reputations. As AI-generated media becomes more advanced and widely available, organizations must take proactive steps to detect, prevent, and respond to deepfake threats.

The most effective defense combines AI-powered detection tools, employee awareness training, and strict security policies. By staying ahead of these evolving risks, organizations can protect their workforce and safeguard their reputation in the digital age.

Check out Keepnet’s Human Risk Management Platform to strengthen your organization’s security against deepfake threats.