WiseTech Global CEO Richard White reported that three company staff members were targeted by AI-generated deepfake videos on WhatsApp calls where scammers impersonated him to request money transfers.
WiseTech Global, a $33 billion logistics software company, experienced a security incident involving AI-generated deepfake technology. CEO Richard White reported at the Australian Shareholders' Association conference that three different staff members were individually targeted by scammers using WhatsApp video calls. The attackers used AI to create convincing video impersonations of White, instructing the employees to transfer money. All three targeted employees were technology professionals who immediately recognized the deception and verified with White through Microsoft Teams that the calls were fraudulent. The incident occurred within a week of White's public comments. White noted this experience highlighted both the sophistication of AI deepfake technology and the threats it poses when used by malicious actors. The company had also recently used AI technology legitimately to create multilingual presentations, with White and CFO Andrew Cartledge creating avatars to translate their half-year results presentations into Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin, demonstrating the dual-use nature of such AI capabilities.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed