The Evolution of Phishing: How Deepfakes and Impersonation Are Targeting Your Executives

In today’s digital threat landscape, phishing has evolved from clumsy spam emails into sophisticated, targeted attacks capable of fooling even seasoned professionals^[1]. Cybercriminals are now blending social engineering with powerful AI-generated content—like deepfake videos—to impersonate high-profile individuals, increasing the success rate of their attacks. One of the most dangerous forms of this deception is called spear phishing—and it’s catching many organisations off guard.

Let’s break down what these terms actually mean before diving into a chilling real-world example that recently hit close to home.

Phishing Terms Explained

Term	Description
Phishing	A broad cyber-attack using deceptive emails, messages, or websites to trick people into revealing credentials or sensitive info.
Spear Phishing	A more targeted form of phishing aimed at a specific individual or organisation using personalised content to increase credibility and success.
Impersonation Attack	A social engineering tactic where the attacker pretends to be a trusted individual—like a CEO, vendor, or colleague—to manipulate the target.
Deepfake	AI-generated synthetic media (video, audio, or images) to create realistic but fake representations of individuals.

Real-World Scenario: Spear Phishing Meets Deepfake Technology

In April 2025, an Australian superannuation fund became the target of a highly coordinated cyber-attack^[1].

Here’s how it unfolded:

• Cybercriminals impersonated a senior executive at the fund, using a fake email domain that closely mirrored the real one.
• They included a highly realistic deepfake video of the executive requesting urgent access to member account details.
• Several employees, believing the video was legitimate, provided internal credentials.
• Attackers then accessed member accounts and breached sensitive financial data.

This wasn’t a typical phishing scam—it was a sophisticated, multi-layered spear phishing campaign amplified by AI and psychological manipulation.

Why This Matters

Spear phishing targets trust—not just systems. With AI-generated deepfakes and impersonation tactics, even trained employees can be misled.

These attacks are:

• Fast to produce (thanks to generative AI)
• Highly scalable
• Exceptionally convincing

For sectors like finance, superannuation, healthcare, and government, this is a growing and urgent threat.

What Can Organisations Do?

Modern phishing campaigns require proactive, organisation-wide action. Here’s where to start:

• Implement MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
  Prevent unauthorised access—even if credentials are compromised.
• Encourage a “Trust, but Verify” Culture
  Train staff to verify all unusual or urgent requests, even from executives.
• Deliver Targeted Cybersecurity Awareness
  Educate staff specifically on spear phishing, impersonation, and deepfakes.
• Monitor for Executive Impersonation
  Use domain protection (DMARC, SPF, DKIM) and watch for spoofed accounts.
• Protect the C-Suite
  Apply enhanced verification and regular training for executive teams.
• Ensure Your Response Plans Address This Threat
  Review your incident response and crisis management plans. Do they include:
  • Executive impersonation scenarios?
  • Credential compromise procedures?
  • Deepfake-related deception?
• Test Your Readiness
  Run simulations and exercises to identify weak points. Would your team detect a fake video message from a senior leader?

How RiskLogic Can Help

RiskLogic works with organisations to embed cyber risk into your broader crisis and continuity planning. We support your team across:

• Bespoke phishing simulations and deepfake awareness training
• Tailored incident response planning for cyber-enabled disruption
• Scenario exercises for boards, execs, legal, risk, comms, and IT
• Integration of cyber risk into your Crisis Management Framework
• Executive post-incident debriefs and resilience maturity reviews

Whether you’re in finance, infrastructure, healthcare or government—we help you plan, train, and respond with confidence.

Final Thought

Cybercriminals are no longer just exploiting systems—they’re exploiting people. Spear phishing campaigns using deepfakes show just how far attackers will go to deceive and disrupt.

Defending your organisation starts with awareness—but it must evolve into action. Planning, training, and testing your defences is not optional—it’s mission-critical.

References

[1] Boyd, T. (2025, April 6). Cybercriminals impersonated super executives in week of mass breach. Australian Financial Review.

https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/cybercriminals-impersonated-super-executives-in-week-of-mass-breach-20250406-p5lpjp