Espionage Tactics for the AI Era: Using Old-School Spycraft to Detect Deepfakes

Deepfake technology is advancing rapidly, making traditional identity verification methods increasingly unreliable. The arms race between deepfake generators and detection technologies is escalating, making it costly and unsustainable for organizations to rely solely on AI-driven detection tools. Instead, intelligence agencies have long relied on low-tech but highly effective verification methods—techniques that could prove invaluable in today’s cybersecurity landscape.
This session explores how espionage tradecraft, including signs, countersigns, and challenge-response techniques, can be adapted to modern cybersecurity to verify identities in an era of AI-driven deception. Using real-world cases like the $25 million CFO deepfake scam, we will discuss why organizations must go beyond technical solutions to combat impersonation threats. Attendees will gain practical strategies for integrating human-centric authentication techniques into their identity verification processes.