Trailblazer Theresa Payton is leading the charge against cybercrime and digital manipulation.

Payton’s career began in the financial services sector, where she quickly rose to the executive ranks. As the first female White House CIO, Payton managed and maintained the IT infrastructure of the White House, ensuring the cybersecurity of White House networks and systems. She led initiatives to modernize and upgrade the White House’s IT infrastructure, including building the first 24/7 security operations center despite the constant cyber threats and compliance requirements of managing such a critical government institution.

Payton returned to the private sector at the end of 2008, later founding Fortalice Solutions to bolster cybersecurity defenses in both government and private sectors.

The Rise and Legal Quagmire of Digital Disinformation

In 2013, Payton noticed the emerging trend of targeted disinformation campaigns against executives, companies, and entire industries. These disinformation peddlers navigate within legal gray areas. Legislation has failed to keep up, and even targeted attacks such as the 2016 hack of the Clinton election campaign are not technically illegal. Because of these ambiguities, disinformation peddlers attack in the open without repercussion. The Tallinn Manual, published by NATO, only offers advice on handling international cyberattacks rather than legal recourse.

Payton’s extensive research into how our ideas, beliefs, and understanding of the world were being attacked led her to write Manipulated, a deep dive into how disinformation campaigns interfere with elections.

The Impact of Manipulation

Disinformation campaigns target nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from the stock market to the election outcomes, sowing distrust in experts and authorities. Disinformation campaigns target nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from the stock market to election outcomes, sowing distrust in experts and authorities. The proliferation of fake news has found a powerful ally in artificial intelligence. Sophisticated AI technologies, such as deepfakes, are being harnessed by malicious actors to craft and disseminate false narratives. Astonishingly, a vast majority of online content, surpassing 90%, is now manipulated using AI, highlighting its significant role in the distortion of facts.

A staggering 93% of videos on social platforms are synthetically produced, with a large portion being manipulated through AI for deceitful purposes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified a worrying trend since 2017 involving the creation of counterfeit profiles for imaginary journalists. These profiles are used to produce and distribute articles laden with AI-generated falsehoods, some of which have been unwittingly published by legitimate news organizations. The artificial profiles are equipped with computer-generated images and elaborate fictional narratives and accolades, all designed to lend credibility to these nonexistent personas.

The FBI anticipates a rapid advancement in digital content manipulation technology within the next year to year and a half. As these technologies become more sophisticated, so too will the techniques employed by those intent on spreading disinformation. This projection signals a pressing need for concerted efforts to develop effective strategies to counteract the rising tide of AI-facilitated fake news, ensuring the reliability and authenticity of information in the digital age.

Manipulators have a common operating pattern—they post disinformation, masked as news on “independent” news sites, and then, using chatbots and fake profiles, spread the “news” across multiple platforms, often in connection with popular, innocuous-seeming hashtags (such as #VaccineSafety). The technique is repeated repeatedly, releasing a steady, relentless stream of disinformation.

The rise of accessible and free AI and “deepfakes” technology further compounds the problem, enabling manipulators to create video “evidence” of people saying or doing inflammatory things. In one case, after an investigative journalist spoke out on her belief that a cover-up had occurred to protect an influential man from accusations of child rape, she was accosted with forged tweets, and her likeness was inserted into a deepfaked pornographic video. The United Nations had to step in to protect her from the death threats that occurred as a result of these attacks.

Combating the Infodemic

Payton recommends that organizations take these steps to protect themselves:

• Foster an awareness of potential disinformation, often in the form of sensational headlines on topics not reported by traditional news media.
• Develop an incident response playbook for a potential cyberattack on your industry, brand, or executives.
• Ask yourself what stories could potentially be made up about your organization or your leaders, and preemptively counter these stories with your own information.
• Proactively scan for disinformation campaigns that could impact your organization.
• If needed, bring in your organization’s Security Operations Center. If this does not exist, create this now.

If you see something, say something. Report false information when you find it on social media platforms. Now is the time to play offense—AI and deepfake technologies are still in their infancy. By taking action now, we can plot the course of a future where manipulation campaigns are easily identified and dismantled before they can harm.

Payton’s book Manipulated offers actionable tips and strategies for organizations on how to spot and stop manipulation campaigns before an attack occurs. Many organizations are using this book today to drive their security strategy.

Want to join the fight? Education is the first step in the fight against disinformation. When you have a deeper understanding of manipulator tactics and the broader conversation on internet security, you are in a much better position to protect yourself.

About Theresa Payton

President and CEO, Fortalice Solutions (est. 2014)

Theresa Payton made history as the first female to serve as White House Chief Information Officer and currently helps public and private organizations protect their most valuable resources. As one of the nation’s most respected authorities on secured digital transformation, Theresa Payton is frequently requested to advise Boards of the Fortune 500, CEOs, and Technology Executives. Theresa is a visionary in the digital world, leading the way as an inventor of new security designs, and has an approved U.S. patent in security. She provides advice drawing from her experience as a technologist, first and now veteran cybercrime fighter, and entrepreneur, masterfully blending memorable anecdotes with cutting-edge insights.

Published By: Aize Perez