Law Practice Management

• Year: 2025
• Citation: Vol. 48 No. 2 Pg. 42
• Pages: 42

Law Practice Management No. Vol. 48 No. 2 Pg. 42 Wyoming Bar Journal April, 2025

Mark Bassingthwaighte

Mark Bassingthwaighte has been a Risk Manager with ALPS since 1998.

Do Lawyers Need to Be Concerned About Deepfakes?

The short answer is yes, everyone does; but the reason lawyers need to be concerned requires a longer explanation.

What is a Deepfake?

The word "deepfake" comes from combining the words "deep learning" with the word "fake." A deepfake is digital content that can be created using powerful techniques from machine learning and artificial intelligence to manipulate existing or generate new visual and audio content that can easily deceive others who view or hear it. Deepfakes aren't by definition all bad; for example, deepfake technology is used by the film industry. It's only when a bad actor creates a deepfake for use in furtherance of a cyberattack, fraud, extortion attempt, or other scam that they become a serious concern.

Isn't Creating a Deepfake Crazy Hard to Do?

Not anymore. Jai Vijayan, contributing writer at the cybersecurity news site, Dark Reading, recently stated: "It's time to dispel notions of deepfakes as an emergent threat. All the pieces for widespread attacks are in place and readily available to cybercriminals, even unsophisticated ones."

Researchers with the security company Trend Micro expressed similar concerns in an online post this past September with this...