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KnowBe4 research reveals senior managers in Singapore are twice as likely to comply with an ai-cloned CEO voice. New study finds 36% of Singapore's office workers can't tell a genuine message from their CEO apart from an AI-generated one, while senior managers are most likely to comply with a cloned CEO voice before verifying it SINGAPORE-(BUSINESS WIRE)-SICW/GovWare - KnowBe4, the global leader in digital workforce security, securing both humans and AI agents, today released its new research, "Would You Know Your CEO's Real Voice? Singapore's Growing Deepfake Vulnerability," during Singapore International Cyber Week and GovWare. As AI-generated voice cloning and deepfake technology make it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine communications from sophisticated impersonation, the research finds that Singapore workplaces face a dual challenge: employees may hesitate to question senior leaders, while those at the top of the organisation can be overconfident in their ability to spot a fake. In Singapore, hierarchy works like a trust shortcut, one that AI-enabled scams are now designed to exploit. A cloned CEO voice doesn't need to fool the technology. It only needs to activate an instinct not to question authority. Share The report, based on a Censuswide survey of 500 Singapore-based office workers, finds that more than a third (36%) would not be confident distinguishing a genuine message from their CEO from one generated using AI, such as through voice cloning or deepfake technology. That uncertainty collides with a workplace culture where challenging a senior leader still carries a real social cost, and the research points to two distinct vulnerabilities: fear among junior and middle-tier staff, and overconfidence among senior managers, the group most likely to comply with a deepfake. Key findings from the report include: * 36% of Singapore office workers are not confident they could distinguish a genuine message from their CEO from an AI-generated one * 50% say they would feel uncomfortable to challenge a request from a senior executive, and 52% would worry about negative consequences for doing so * 45% would be equally worried about delaying a request from a senior leader as about accidentally causing a cybersecurity incident, and 9% would rather risk the breach than delay the boss * Senior managers are the most confident group at spotting a fake (78%), but are also the most likely to comply with a cloned CEO voice before verifying it (35%), more than double the rate of clerical workers (16%) * Only 26% have received training specifically on AI-generated scams involving senior leaders. That training is concentrated among senior managers, the tier shown to be most at risk Notably, only 10% of respondents identify "employees trusting senior leaders too readily" as the greatest cybersecurity risk their workplace faces, suggesting this vulnerability goes largely unnoticed by those it affects most. "In Singapore, hierarchy works like a trust shortcut, one that AI-enabled scams are now designed to exploit," said Dr Kawin Boonyapredee, CISO advisor at KnowBe4. "A cloned voice or a convincing message from 'the boss' doesn't need to fool the technology. It only needs to activate an instinct not to question authority. Closing that gap requires training and simulations to change behaviour at every level of seniority, not just awareness at the top." As AI-enabled impersonation grows more convincing and more targeted at senior leadership, the research makes the case that technology alone cannot close this gap. Organisations need an approach that builds psychological safety for junior and middle-tier staff to speak up, and better verification habits, not just more confidence, for senior managers. Download the full report, "Would You Know Your CEO's Real Voice? Singapore's Growing Deepfake Vulnerability," here. Methodology This report is based on an independent online survey conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 500 Singapore-based office workers who use email/computers for work. The data was collected between 06.08.2026-11.08.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. Business Wire, Inc. adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles. About KnowBe4 KnowBe4 empowers the whole workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 is the pioneer of digital workforce security, securing both humans and AI agents. The KnowBe4 Platform provides attack simulation and training, email & collaboration security, and agent security powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score. The Platform leverages 16-years of behavioral data to combat advanced threats including social engineering, prompt injection, and shadow AI. By securing humans and agents, KnowBe4 leads the industry in workforce trust and defense. More info at knowbe4.com. Contacts. Media Contact: Nyrin Odisha Head of Public Relations, APJ [email protected]

KnowBe4 adds browser extension to curb shadow AI use. Fri, 2nd Oct 2026 (Today) KnowBe4 has added a browser extension for Chrome and Edge to its Agent Risk Manager product, giving security teams real-time control over unsanctioned AI use in the browser. The update targets what security teams often call shadow AI: employees using chatbots, coding assistants, meeting transcription tools and other browser-based AI services without approval from IT or security. The extension can identify access to known AI sites and allow administrators to permit, warn or block that access at the point of use. The move comes as companies try to balance employee demand for AI tools with concerns about data leakage, governance and cyber risk. In research cited by KnowBe4, 52% of organisations said their AI use was unapproved or ungoverned. The same research found that more than a third of employees commonly source their own agentic AI tools when approved options are unavailable or restrictive. That has created a new challenge for employers. Many businesses already track software use through dashboards or network monitoring, but those systems often show activity only after staff have used an external service. KnowBe4 is positioning the extension as a way to move from monitoring to intervention within the browser session itself. Matt Duren, Senior Vice President of AI and Data at KnowBe4, said the main issue for security teams is not simply knowing that staff are using unauthorised AI tools, but being able to stop or manage that activity in time. "Visibility alone does not stop a data leak, it just documents it," said Matt Duren, Senior Vice President of AI and Data at KnowBe4. He said the launch also reflects broader pressure on security teams to take stock of AI use across their organisations. "Security teams have been instructed to take an inventory of the AI tools running in their environment. While that is necessary, it is not enough. With this extension, the same capability that discovers shadow AI can now act on it in real time without forcing security teams to choose between locking AI down and letting it run unchecked," Duren said. Platform link The browser extension sits within KnowBe4's wider platform rather than operating as a standalone tool. In practice, that means data on shadow AI usage is intended to feed into the same user risk profile that already includes phishing simulation results, security awareness training and real-time coaching. The approach draws on 16 years of behavioural risk data across more than 70,000 customers. For corporate security teams, that means AI-related behaviour is being treated as part of the same broader human risk picture as clicking phishing links or ignoring security prompts. That reflects a wider shift in cybersecurity products towards combining user behaviour, access controls and security training in a single system. Vendors in the sector increasingly argue that AI use is not only a technology procurement issue but also a workforce risk issue, particularly when staff paste internal information into public tools or use consumer services to complete work tasks. Access scope The extension is available to Security Awareness Training Advanced customers on direct-sale US tenant accounts through an early access programme. Broader availability is planned in the coming months, though KnowBe4 did not provide a more detailed timetable. The restricted rollout suggests the company is testing demand and operational use before a wider release. Early-access launches are common in cybersecurity, where vendors often need customer feedback on policy controls, false positives and administrative workflows before expanding a product across regions and account types. For users, one practical issue will be how organisations define acceptable AI use. A system that can block, warn or allow access still requires companies to decide which tools fall into each category. That can be difficult in a market where consumer AI services change quickly, new browser-based assistants appear regularly and business units often adopt tools faster than central governance teams can review them. Market pressure KnowBe4 is best known for security awareness training and phishing simulations, and the extension adds another layer to a market that has traditionally focused on educating employees rather than directly controlling browser behaviour. By connecting browser activity to existing training and risk scoring, the company is extending its role from awareness into active policy enforcement around AI use. The broader commercial logic is clear. As companies introduce internal AI rules, security buyers are looking for tools that can show where employees are using unsanctioned services and provide immediate options for handling that behaviour. Products that only list AI usage may satisfy reporting needs, but they may not address the problem of sensitive information entering external systems before a security team can respond. Shadow AI activity captured in the browser does not sit in a separate console and instead feeds into the same organisational risk profile as phishing simulations, security awareness training and real-time coaching.