Deepfake Remote Workers: The Perfect Job Applicant

As cyber threats evolve, so must our defenses.

Imagine this. 👉You’ve just hired a brilliant software engineer with flawless credentials. They’re articulate in interviews and ready to start immediately! But three months later, your security team notices suspicious outbound traffic from that employee’s machine. After some digging, you realize…that person you hired? Doesn’t even exist.

Welcome to the age of deepfake remote workers: the latest evolution of social engineering attacks, where hackers take advantage of broken hiring processes.

And let’s be clear: this is not science fiction. It’s happening right now.

The good news? Deepfake remote workers are a serious issue, but you can strengthen your organization’s defenses with a few changes to your hiring process.

The Risk and Impact of Deepfake Workers

At my cybersecurity company, one significant trend we’ve noticed is that most reported incidents are for engineering roles. Why? These jobs may have access to your codebase, dev environments, and sometimes production pipelines.

Let’s break down the risk:

• Insider Threat & Supply Chain Compromise: A remote engineer with malicious intent can insert backdoors or malicious code into your software updates.

• Data Exfiltration & Ransom: Sensitive customer data, trade secrets, or unreleased product designs can be stolen and held for ransom—or worse, sold on the dark web.

• Reputation Fallout: Imagine the headlines: “North Korean deepfake developer infiltrates XYZ Corp.” This is more than just a security breach. It’s a brand crisis.

Having a foreign entity on payroll is complicated enough. However, having a foreign entity with access to your codebase can be an even bigger threat. 

The Depth and Breadth of the Deepfake Problem

Insider threats and supply chain compromises keep even the best CTOs up at night. Access to your codebase allows a threat actor to potentially push malicious code to your user base from the inside.

Sure, this might not have impacted your organization yet. But, it’s a very real possibility, and it’s happened to many other companies worldwide.

But, is this specifically a deepfake problem?

Yes and no. We’ve seen deepfake live being used in interviews. But more specifically, it’s a hiring problem.

The hiring process is fundamentally broken and susceptible to fraud. Hackers know this, so they’re leveraging generative AI and deepfake technology to exploit the process. We must address that first before seeking technical solutions.

While many companies seek lower labor costs or provide remote work flexibility to their employees, they also need to prioritize organizational safety. No deepfake remote worker should make it past your company's interview or onboarding process.

The Rising Myth of the Perfect Job Applicant

The more immediate concern is who has already made it past the gates. This should be a focus in addition to scrutinizing job applicants.

According to The Economic Times, thousands of workers from North Korea have already infiltrated Fortune 500 companies. Unfortunately, we can’t independently verify this data, so the true scope may never be known. Still, my team at Breacher.ai believes it’s a widespread issue.

But should companies always assume a breach? Maybe, but be sure to verify first—and do it quickly. If there’s a secondary motive, such as data exfiltration or pushing malicious code, the threat of discovery may escalate actions.

Potential Solutions

The good news is that there are several steps your company can take to refine its hiring and remote work process. Consider the following:

• Monitor data traffic. Keep an eye on DLP solutions and outbound traffic from your organization’s network. Monitor and log your remote employees' access data and network traffic. Are you seeing large outbound requests? 

• Audit access to sensitive systems. Reverify the identities of remote hires from the last 12–18 months, especially in engineering and IT. 

• Create a deepfakes playbook. Are you prepared for the worst-case scenario? Do you have a response plan in place for this type of incident? Consult your legal, technical, and compliance teams.

• Raise the bar for identity verification. Do a thorough background check to verify a person’s identity, especially overseas workers. Shady characters can easily fake documentation and identities.

• Get HR and security talking regularly. Prioritize OSINT and background checks, especially for remote hiring roles. This is an excellent opportunity for security teams and HR to collaborate and verify the identity of all job applicants.

• Flag specific roles as high-risk. Are you hiring for a remote engineer role? Right now, those roles should be scrutinized extra heavily. Security teams are well equipped to conduct OSINT of individuals in most cases as an added layer of precaution. 

💡BONUS TIP: Can you fly the candidate to your office for an in-person interview? It likely won’t be feasible to do this for all last-round candidates in every role, and foreign nationals might not have travel documents to enter your country. However, it’s worth considering this option for more high-risk roles whenever possible.

Defend With Knowledge

Deepfake threats are not just about viral videos or celebrity impersonations. They are now a cybersecurity, HR, and brand risk all rolled into one.

But here’s the good news: 

You don’t need to reinvent your entire hiring operation, but you should tighten the bolts where it matters most.

Don’t fear deepfakes. 

Understand them, and stay one step ahead.

About the Author

Jason Thatcher is the founder of Breacher.ai and has a background spanning red teaming, adversary simulation, and security awareness. Breacher.ai takes a human-first approach to deepfake defense by building awareness through simulations and practical training, instead of fear tactics. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

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