One of the challenges we wanted to explore last year was how emerging deepfake attacks – powered by AI – were undermining the human efficacy of the very tools we use for communicating in business. Email, Zoom meetings, channels and chats in Teams, text messages, voice calls, and the like – if these are compromised by threat actors with deepfakes and undetectable impersonation, do we reach the point where the foundation of how we work together is irrevocably broken? Do people stop trusting these tools – and reject them entirely? And what can we do about it?
The challenges we wanted to explore aligned with a research program of interest to IRONSCALES, an email and communications security vendor that we have worked with on several previous research programs (e.g., see here, here, and here). The outcome of our new research on trust is now available – see Rebuilding Trust in Digital Communications.
Here’s what we found:
- Higher threat actor interest in attacking; elevated threat levels; almost everyone has been compromised
82% of organizations have seen higher interest from threat actors in compromising digital communications over the past year. Threat levels of AI-infused phishing attacks, vendor impersonation, and deepfake audio have increased most significantly. 88% of organizations have suffered at least one security incident that undermined trust in the past 12 months. - Employees aren’t ready and many attacks are still immature
51% of organizations are highly concerned that employees aren’t ready to defend against attacks that weaponize trust, and overwhelmingly so for employee groups viewed as high-priority attack targets by threat actors. Deepfake audio and video attacks are accelerating rapidly, with threat levels increasing significantly over the past year. While many organizations have begun preparing defenses, 60% lack confidence in their ability to counter these attacks effectively—a dangerous gap as threat actors continue to refine their capabilities. - Data breach risk is higher, efficacy of core activities lower
55% of respondents say that failing to counter attacks that weaponize trust significantly increases the likelihood of a data breach. Several additional costs follow closely behind—hits to employee productivity and workflow efficiency, a reduced ability to engage with customers, and declining market capitalization. - Strengthen, re-platform, and/or build your own next generation of protections
Organizations are re-evaluating how they assess security tools to safeguard digital communication channels and identities, given high levels of concern about threat actors’ access to advanced capabilities for new attack types. Best-in-class point solutions, complete replacement, and build-your-own avenues are all under consideration.
Key finding #3 above includes the line “hits to employee productivity and workflow efficiency.” Just recently we’ve seen a projection that talks about what this could look like in 2026, assuming organizations don’t get it right:
In-person communication will rise in popularity as cybersecurity’s last line of defense: Deepfakes have reached a new level of sophistication. With synthetic voices and video now indistinguishable from the real thing, attackers can impersonate anyone in real time. In response, organizations will reintroduce traditional trust-building tactics. Executives will meet in person for high-stakes decisions, “safe words” will return as verification tools, and face-to-face will regain its value. In a world where we can no longer trust what we see and hear online, physical presence will become a new pillar of security strategy.
Is rebuilding trust in digital communications a significant concern for your organization in 2026? If so, you should get a copy of the report.
For a deep dive into the research and a chance to ask your questions, IRONSCALES is hosting a webinar on March 5 to examine the findings from the research and what it means for organizations. Audian Paxson (Principal Technical Strategist, IRONSCALES) and Michael Sampson (Principal Analyst, Osterman Research) are speaking at the webinar. Please register to attend.