PNS|HYDERABAD
As phishing attacks in India surged by 175% in 2024, according to the Digital Threat Report, the spotlight has shifted sharply toward a more insidious cyber menace—AI-generated deepfakes. From impersonating bank officials to simulating entire identities, these synthetic media tools are redefining the anatomy of cybercrime. Standing at the forefront of defense is pi-labs, a deep-tech company spearheading AI-forensics innovation through its flagship platform, Authentify.
In an exclusive interview, Ankush Tiwari, Founder and CEO of pi-labs, delves into how the company is tackling emerging threats, the core technology behind Authentify, and the evolving ecosystem of deepfake-driven attacks.
AI has not only empowered productivity—it has also supercharged deception. Deepfakes, which can replicate a person’s face, voice, and expressions with uncanny accuracy, are now being weaponised in identity fraud, vKYC manipulations, and even fake video calls.
“Traditional phishing relied on poor-quality impersonations; today, deepfake videos, audios, and images can simulate a real person’s face, voices and gestures with alarming precision. This enables fraudsters to bypass verification systems, manipulate trust in video KYC processes, or even orchestrate scams through fake video calls.”
To counter this new wave of attacks, pi-labs has developed Authentify, a detection platform designed to flag synthetic media across video, audio, and images—before they can exploit systems or trust.
At the heart of Authentify is a powerful AI stack trained on millions of datasets spanning geographies, languages, and identity markers. But the company isn’t just chasing accuracy metrics—it’s building contextual intelligence.
“We use AI and deterministic techniques to identify deepfakes. We are also providing maximum transparency and explainability for our deepfake predictions,” explains Tiwari. “We believe that deepfake detection goes beyond algorithmic precision—it requires an understanding of nuances and identity-specific markers.”
Operating in real-time, the platform integrates seamlessly into existing verification workflows through APIs. It offers deployment flexibility, supporting both on-premise implementations for sensitive environments and scalable cloud solutions. This allows Authentify to embed deepfake detection at the point of identity verification, without disrupting operations.
One of the most alarming trends pi-labs has observed is the commodification of deepfake creation itself. Criminals are offering realistic identity forgeries—including Aadhaar, PAN cards and even voice clones—for as little as INR 50 to INR 100.
“This is no longer just a cybercrime issue—it’s the beginning of Jamtara 3.0. Misinformation, fake documents and identity manipulation pose real threats to national security, BFSI systems and law enforcement operations.”
These services are often hosted via encrypted messaging platforms like Telegram, sometimes operated from international hubs including China. The accessibility of such tools significantly lowers the barrier to committing sophisticated fraud.
“Much like the early days of antivirus software, we always want to believe that attackers are ahead of us. This keeps us on our toes and ensures we are always on the hunt to look for problems in this domain.”
pi-labs’ technology isn’t just theoretical—it’s actively securing high-risk sectors.
“In BFSI, [Authentify] is helping prevent fraud during remote onboarding and vKYC processes. In law enforcement, the platform is assisting agencies in authenticating digital evidence and identifying manipulated media.”
The company is currently working with central and state-level government bodies, helping them resolve complex cases involving synthetic media. Additionally, it is integrating its solution across verification workflows, from KYC systems to HR interviews and even at the device level on laptops and mobile devices.
“The threat is evolving fast, and so must the defense. Proactive, embedded and AI-driven verification is no longer optional—it’s critical.”
As synthetic media increasingly fuels misinformation, pi-labs sees its role expanding into the domain of public communication, elections and journalism.
“Authentify can empower media outlets by offering them real-time verification tools to authenticate videos, audio, and images before publication. For regulatory bodies and election commissions, it can serve as a validation layer to flag manipulated political ads, campaign material, or fake public service announcements.”
To support large-scale operations, the company offers API-based tools that can be directly embedded into content management systems and public-facing reporting platforms. This enables automated, real-time detection of synthetic media—an essential step in safeguarding democratic processes.
In line with India’s cyber resilience roadmap, pi-labs takes pride in being both locally grounded and globally competitive.
“Our models are trained on data that reflects Indian demographics, languages and cultural nuances. At the same time, our technology architecture, AI pipelines and compliance standards are benchmarked against global best practices.”
While the core of their R&D is rooted in Indian realities, the company actively contributes to international cybersecurity alliances and standards.
As AI evolves, so do the threats. pi-labs is actively building future-proof defenses through continuous research.
“We believe that the only way to stay ahead is to invest in deep, meaningful R&D. As a small but mission-driven company, we are proud to have published five patents and multiple research papers that contribute to the broader cybersecurity and AI-forensics ecosystem.”
Their R&D pipeline is focused on next-generation detection systems, real-time identity risk scoring and advanced signal processing for synthetic voice and video artifacts.
“Our team is unified by a shared belief that we’re working toward a greater good—building technologies that protect digital trust and strengthen the fabric of society in an age of synthetic media.”
For pi-labs, scaling AI-forensics infrastructure across India means building bridges—with government, academia and industry.
“We believe a national framework for synthetic media detection standards, public-private research grants and collaborations with regulatory sandboxes will be critical. pi-labs is actively engaging with fintech alliances, cybersecurity task forces and digital governance initiatives to contribute to building this ecosystem.”
By partnering with policymakers and frontline institutions, pi-labs aims to anchor India’s digital future on a foundation of trust, transparency and technological integrity.
In an era where seeing is no longer believing, platforms like Authentify may be the silent sentinels standing between digital truth and deception. As Ankush Tiwari puts it, “AI-driven verification is no longer optional—it’s critical.”
