McAfee and Lenovo unveil AI-powered deepfake detector

Antivirus firm McAfee has launched an AI-powered deepfake detector exclusively on Lenovo AI PCs.

The deepfake detector claims to automatically alerts users if it identifies AI-generated audio in a video, helping consumers discern real from fake with what it claims to be a 96% accuracy rate.

McAfee added that the technology leverages the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) in Lenovo AI PCs to perform the entire identification process within the device.

According to the firm the on-device processing will save users from risking the exposure of video data by manually uploading videos to deepfake-detecting websites, or cloud-based alternatives.

The cyber sec vendor added  that the detector doesn’t collect or record a user’s audio – and people can only opt into the tool and can turn it back off if they want to.

According to McAfee, less than a fifth of social media users in the UK find it easy to spot AI-generated content. Almost half (45%) of victims of voice cloning or other deepfake scams in the UK lose money, and almost a quarter have lost more than £1,000.

By digitally imitating the voice or face of a firm’s C-level executive or a senior manager, an attacker can make payment requests, order wire transfers, request changes to bank information, or ask for invoices and billing addresses to be updated.

In May this year, the head of WPP Mark Read revealed how the ad agency had been the target of a deepfake scam, with fraudsters using a voice clone of the CEO alongside YouTube footage of the exec, while impersonating him in the chat window of a WhatsApp meeting.

“Knowledge is power, and this has never been more true than in the AI-driven world we’re living in today,” said SVP of product at McAfee, Roma Majumder.

“No more wondering, ‘Is this Prince William investment scheme legitimate?’ , ‘Does Taylor Swift really want to giveaway cookware to fans?’ or ‘Did Sir Keir Starmer actually say these words?’ The answers are provided to you automatically and within seconds with McAfee Deepfake Detector.”

Read more on TechInformed’s coverage of deepfakes in the Year of Elections here