The $25M Zoom Call: How Deepfakes Are Rewriting the Rules of Trust, Featuring KnowBe4's Erich Kron

A Hong Kong employee sits through what seems like a routine video call with colleagues and the CFO. Everything looks normal. Then comes the urgent wire transfer request. $25 million later, the horrifying truth emerges: every face on that call was fake, generated by AI.

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, host Ed McNamara sits down with Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, to unpack one of the most sophisticated cyber heists in history. We'll explore how cybercriminals have industrialized deception, the psychology behind why we fall for these scams, and what organizations can do to fight back against the rise of "Cybercrime Inc."

Key Takeaways:

• How attackers used "scripted movie" techniques to pull off a $25M deepfake heist
• Why cybercrime now operates like big business—complete with HR departments and profit-sharing models
• The psychology of System 1 vs System 2 thinking and how emotions drive us into making mistakes
• AI-powered defense tools that are helping organizations stay ahead of deepfake threats

Guest: Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate, KnowBe4

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This episode is brought to you by KnowBe4. Ready to move beyond cybersecurity awareness to actually reducing human risk? Visit shi.com/partners/knowbe4 to learn how AI is transforming human risk management.

#Cybersecurity #Deepfakes #HumanRisk #AI #SocialEngineering #InnovationHeroes

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Show Notes & Resources

Learn More About Erich Kron

• Erich Kron on LinkedIn
• KnowBe4 Blog - Author Page for Erich Kron
• The Jericho Show (co-hosted with Javvad Malik) (YouTube)

$25 Million Deepfake Zoom Scam - News Coverage

• Ars Technica: $25 million stolen in deepfake Zoom scam
• World Economic Forum: What a $25M deepfake scam reveals about AI risks

Additional Context

• KnowBe4's work on Human Risk Management: shi.com/partners/knowbe4