---
title: "Detecting Deepfakes: Risks and Protective Measures for Businesses"
lang: en
type: knowledge
canonical: https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/ai/deepfake
alternate: https://www.arocom.de/wissen/ki/deepfake
author: "Axel Roth"
last_updated: 2026-07-29
---

# Detecting Deepfakes: Risks and Protective Measures for Businesses

Deepfakes are AI-generated media in which faces or voices are forged
with deceptive realism. For businesses, deepfakes pose a concrete risk:
CEO fraud, brand manipulation, and disinformation. Detecting deepfakes
and building organizational safeguards is becoming essential. arocom
helps businesses make their digital platforms secure and trustworthy.

## Detecting Deepfakes: Risks and Protective Measures for Businesses

A video of your CEO announcing an acquisition, except they never
said it. A voice message from your executive board authorizing a
wire transfer, generated by AI. Deepfakes are no longer a
science-fiction scenario but an operational risk. This article
explains how deepfakes work and what you can do about them.

## How Deepfakes Are Created

Deepfakes are based on deep learning and neural networks. An AI
model is trained on hundreds or thousands of images or audio
recordings of a person. It learns facial features, expressions,
voice characteristics, and can then insert these into other
content.

- **Video deepfakes:** Faces are replaced in real time
- **Audio deepfakes:** Using [AI Speech Synthesis](https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/ai/speech-synthesis), voices are synthetically replicated
- **Text deepfakes:** AI generates text in the style of a person

The tools for this are becoming increasingly accessible. What
required specialized knowledge five years ago is now achievable
with open-source software and a standard graphics card.

## Concrete Risks for Businesses

**CEO fraud and social engineering:** Deepfake voices are already
being used for fraudulent calls. A supposed call from the executive
board can trick employees into making transfers or sharing data.

**Brand manipulation:** Fake videos or statements from your
executives can influence stock prices, unsettle customers, or
damage partnerships.

**Disinformation:** In regulated industries, a strategically
placed deepfake can cause significant harm, from compliance
violations to reputational damage.

## Detecting Deepfakes and Protecting Yourself

**Detection indicators:**
- Unnatural facial expressions or asynchronous lip movements
- Inconsistent lighting between face and background
- Artifacts at hairlines, ears, or teeth
- Unusual audio quality in voice recordings

**Technical safeguards:**
- Deploy deepfake detection tools (e.g., Microsoft Video Authenticator)
- Establish verification protocols for critical communications
- Apply digital watermarks or content authenticity standards to media

**Organizational measures:**
- Two-factor verification for payment approvals
- Awareness training for employees
- Clear processes for verifying external communications

Since 2012, arocom has supported businesses in building secure
digital platforms. Trustworthiness starts with the infrastructure.

**Making your platform secure and trustworthy?**

arocom advises on secure platform architecture and AI integration.
Contact us, our team responds within 4 business hours.

- [Request a consultation](https://www.arocom.de/en/contact)

- [Learn more about AI integration](https://www.arocom.de/en/services/ai-integration)

**From arocom projects:**

- At [HENN](https://www.arocom.de/en/references/henn) (architecture firm) we put the drupal/ai module into production, with AI-powered image tagging and semantic search directly in the backend.
- For [GOPA Group](https://www.arocom.de/en/references/gopa) we consolidated their international platform after they'd had bad experiences with other agencies, adding AI-powered tagging and translations across all language versions.

### Are deepfakes illegal?

It depends on the context. Creative or satirical use can be legal. Deepfakes used for deception, fraud, or defamation are punishable. The EU AI Act tightens the labeling requirements for AI-generated content.

### How can I detect a deepfake?

Look for unnatural facial expressions, asynchronous lip movements, and lighting inconsistencies. Specialized detection tools analyze videos and audio for AI-typical artifacts. For critical decisions: verify the source directly.

### What distinguishes a deepfake from regular image editing?

A deepfake uses AI to create realistic forgeries automatically and at scale. Traditional image editing is manual and requires significantly more effort for comparable results.