Managing AI-Powered Impersonation: Can you Trust What You See and Hear?

A voice message from your managing director asks you to rush through a payment. A video call shows a colleague you know well. An email uses the right names, the right tone and the right project details. Ten years ago, any of these would have seemed trustworthy. Today, any of them could have been made with generative AI.

Deepfakes and voice cloning have made impersonation far more convincing, and the financial damage is already adding up. In this article, Steph Rowland from IMSM, part of Axiom GRC, looks at how AI is changing social engineering, which warning signs still matter, and why independent verification should be part of every high-risk process. She also explains how ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 can help organisations defend against impersonation and manage the risks of their own staff using AI tools.