Beijing, China – China’s intelligence agency warned on Saturday of escalating risks stemming from the use of “deepfakes” technologies by foreign forces aiming to sow panic and threaten national security.
The South China Morning Post quoted the Chinese Ministry of State Security
as saying that these malicious practices rely on deep learning algorithms to accurately simulate faces and voices;
This makes it a deadly tool for misleading public opinion and spreading false information within the country.
Risks of artificial intelligence
In the same context, the warning was not limited to visual content only,
but extended to include the risks of data leakage through open-source artificial intelligence tools.
The ministry revealed that it had detected cases in which foreign entities were
able to access sensitive information as a result of employees using unprotected platforms;
Since these tools allow the display of files without sufficient restrictions,
it has become easy for foreign Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to breach the sovereign privacy of information.
A guide to dealing with security: tips for users
Accordingly, the Ministry of State Security called on citizens and companies
to exercise extreme caution when dealing with artificial intelligence applications.
Furthermore, the ministry provided a list of necessary protection protocols, which include:
Avoid processing sensitive data across open online platforms.
Disable automatic “cloud storage” and data sharing features.
Periodic monitoring of the “digital fingerprint” and scanning of conversation logs with artificial intelligence.
This is to ensure that no gaps are left that can be exploited in social engineering or digital espionage operations.
The move towards strict international regulation
On the other hand, this intelligence warning comes at a time when Beijing
is aggressively pushing for international regulations on artificial intelligence technologies.
Since China sees these technologies as a double-edged sword,
it is working to balance technological innovation with the requirements of social stability.
This prompts it to encourage global cooperation to develop an ethical charter
that prevents the use of artificial intelligence to threaten the national security of countries.
Summary of the digital security landscape
The Chinese report reflects a shift in the concept of geopolitical conflict,
as geographical borders are no longer the only obstacle.
“Digital sovereignty” has become the front line of confrontation.
Therefore, the tech community is waiting to see how strict the measures that Beijing will take next.
This could lead to further restrictions on the use of foreign software within vital Chinese institutions.
