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Yes. On April 10, 2024, LastPass said an employee received WhatsApp calls, texts and at least one voicemail featuring an audio deepfake impersonating the company’s CEO. The employee ignored the messages and alerted the security team. LastPass said the attempt had no impact on the company.
What happened in the LastPass CEO voice-cloning attempt?
LastPass described a series of calls and messages sent to an employee on WhatsApp “earlier today,” in a company statement published April 10, 2024. At least one message was a voicemail. The audio impersonated the LastPass CEO, but the company did not say how the voice sample was made or identify who was behind the attempt. LastPass’s incident account does not report a motive or financial loss.
How did the deepfake scam work?
The apparent tactic was executive impersonation: use an audio deepfake and an unusual contact channel to make a communication seem to come from a senior leader. LastPass said the contact showed social-engineering warning signs, including forced urgency, and came through a channel outside normal business communications. The company did not publish the exact wording of the messages or describe what the employee was asked to do, so the specific intended action is not established.
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Was LastPass hacked through a fake CEO call?
No company impact was reported. The employee ignored the calls and messages and reported them to the internal security team, which LastPass said was able to mitigate the attempt and share awareness of the tactic. Mike Kosak of LastPass stated, “To be clear, there was no impact to our company.”
That describes an unsuccessful impersonation attempt, not a reported breach of LastPass systems. The public account does not name the attacker or say that any account, funds or company data were accessed.
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How can companies reduce the risk of AI voice impersonation?
The practical lesson is to verify unusual requests independently rather than trusting a familiar-sounding voice, name or caller identity. LastPass recommends using established, approved internal communication channels to verify contacts claiming to represent the company.
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- Pause when urgency is used: Treat pressure to act quickly, unusual contact methods and requests outside normal procedures as social-engineering warning signs.
- Follow approval procedures: Do not let an urgent call bypass required checks for sensitive actions. Use the organization’s normal authorization process.
- Report and share: Send suspected impersonation attempts to the internal security team so it can investigate and alert others. LastPass also recommends sharing indicators with trusted intelligence partners.
These steps address the attack pattern described by LastPass; its incident account does not evaluate particular products or vendors.
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