Combating AI Disinformation: A CISO’s Guide to C-Suite Collaboration

The rise of generative AI (GenAI) is creating a dangerous new frontier in corporate security, with disinformation emerging as a complex and largely unmanaged risk that spans both internal and external organizational surfaces. This evolving threat landscape demands a coordinated response from security leaders who now face a dual challenge of protecting both digital systems and corporate reputations.

A recent Gartner survey revealed a troubling statistic: 36% of organizations have already fallen victim to social engineering attacks involving deepfakes in video calls with employees. This figure underscores the urgent reality that AI-powered disinformation has moved from theoretical concern to practical threat, requiring immediate attention from chief information security officers (CISOs).

Unlike other information threats, disinformation is uniquely dangerous because it combines falsity with malicious intent. These attacks come in two primary forms: episodic attacks targeting individuals for immediate financial gain, such as impersonating executives in video calls to authorize fraudulent transfers, and industrial campaigns that systematically undermine brand reputation or manipulate stock prices over time.

The attack vectors are diverse and growing. Internally, adversaries exploit corporate meeting platforms, email systems, and messaging apps to bypass authentication measures and impersonate trusted figures. Externally, they create convincing fake websites, deepfaked media content, and social profiles, often using automated bot networks to amplify their campaigns.

This cross-cutting nature of disinformation attacks creates a serious organizational vulnerability, as the threat operates in the gap between cybersecurity, communications, marketing, and risk management. The result is often a fragmented response to what security experts describe as “everybody’s problem and nobody’s responsibility.”

Many organizations compound this vulnerability through reactive, uncoordinated approaches. Common missteps include treating disinformation as either a purely technical issue or merely a public relations problem rather than recognizing it as a fundamental enterprise risk. Without clear ownership and cross-departmental collaboration, countermeasures typically prove ineffective.

Security leaders also frequently struggle to differentiate between types of information threats. Experts advise CISOs to focus their limited resources specifically on disinformation—where both harmful intent and factual inaccuracy are present—rather than attempting to address all forms of misleading content.

To effectively combat this emerging threat, security professionals recommend a three-step strategic framework that emphasizes cross-functional collaboration.

First, CISOs must establish shared vision and governance by working closely with CIOs, Chief Communications Officers, and Chief Marketing Officers to define responsibilities, policies, and common understanding of the threat. This includes creating structured governance mechanisms like Trust Councils and joint task forces that guide detection, response, and remediation efforts across departments.

The second step involves protecting internal surfaces through collaboration with IT leadership. Key measures include implementing robust user authentication systems, deploying real-time deepfake detection in corporate communications platforms, and upgrading security training to include dynamic, experiential learning about disinformation threats. Business processes vulnerable to manipulation should receive additional authentication safeguards.

Finally, CISOs must partner with communications and marketing leaders to manage external reputation risks. This collaboration should deploy narrative intelligence tools that monitor for malicious campaigns, track sentiment changes, and detect synthetic media. Adopting content provenance standards like C2PA for official communications helps establish authenticity, while executive protection services defend leadership against targeted attacks.

Measuring effectiveness requires tracking key performance indicators including time-to-detection of disinformation campaigns, response time for coordinated countermeasures, improvements in security awareness, incident recurrence rates, and changes in brand trust metrics following incidents.

Ultimately, combating AI-driven disinformation requires more than technical solutions—it demands an organizational culture of shared responsibility. CISOs must lead in communicating risks and fostering this culture, engaging all employees in detection, reporting, and response processes.

While generative AI promises significant business benefits, it simultaneously arms attackers with powerful new deception tools. By implementing unified, proactive disinformation security strategies, security leaders can protect their organizations’ reputation, assets, and personnel against an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape.