 |
| Photo by ThisIsEngineering |
ID Crypt analysed the changing market size, measured in annual revenue, of the Fraud Detection Software Development industry* and the Cyber Security Software Development industry* to see how they have grown over the past decade to combat the rise of deepfake technology and the manipulative powers it can have on a population.
What is deepfake technology?
Deepfakes are synthetic media, often in the form of videos, audio, or images, created with artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning algorithms.
Often, this technology enables deepfake creators to use the face, voice, or both of a chosen person, and create media in which they do or say anything the creator wants. It is a technology that is estimated to cost the global economy more than £60 billion a year.
One example is the series of dramatic photos supposedly depicting the arrest of Donald Trump. Another is the fake yet utterly convincing audio recording of Labour leader Keir Starmer screaming at an aide for forgetting an iPad.
Recent data shows that the number of online deepfakes is doubling every six months, and such is the disinformation they’re creating in the political sphere ahead of this year’s elections in the UK and USA that some are already calling this the year of AI elections.
The deepfake process is becoming so sophisticated that it is now incredibly difficult to quickly differentiate between genuine and fake content. This poses a real threat to the world because of the speed at which news and images travel around the world via social media. Before a deepfake can be spotted, it has already reached and tricked millions of people.
Combating the rise of deepfakes
There are a number of industries that are focussing efforts on developing technology that enable us to quickly know when something has been deepfaked.
Two such industries are Fraud Detection Software Development and Cyber Security Software Development, both of which have grown at pace over the past ten years to try and keep up with the rise of deepfakes and other AI-led manipulation technologies.
In 2014, the UK Fraud Detection Software Development industry generated total annual revenue of £372 million.
Since then, the size of the industry has increased every year culminating in total 2023 revenue of £1.1 billion.
This marks a ten-year revenue increase of +193.5%.
In 2014, the UK Cyber Security Software Development created total revenue of £493 million and has grown every year since.
By 2023, total industry revenue came to just over £1.06 billion marking a ten-year increase of +115.61%.
ID Crypt fighting at the forefront of the battle against disinformation
Because of the damage and disinformation being caused by deepfake imagery, ID Crypt Global has created and launched an early access Authentic Media Protection program (AMP) that enables the likes of news and picture agencies to authenticate all of the images they publish so that, if one of them goes on to be manipulated and republished, it will be instantly flagged as a fake.
CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, commented:
“There is something truly sinister and unsettling about living in a world where we can no longer trust anything we see. This kind of uncertainty breeds fear and fear breeds conspiracy and unrest. We have seen far too many examples of deepfake media creating confusion and anger out in the real world, from celebrities ‘saying’ deeply offensive things, to politicians appearing on stage next to extremist figures.
Thankfully, there are some brilliant people and organisations working day and night to bring tools to the people that enable them to spot a fake quickly and minimise the spread of disinformation, and we are incredibly proud to be one of those companies.
Our new AMP gives journalists and media companies a practical and vital tool with which to authenticate their own images and protect them against manipulation after publication. We hope that this helps limit the scope for deepfake circulation, a concern that becomes all the more important as we enter election season.”
Data tables and sources