The deepfake threat and beyond: 3 unconventional security crises every founder-led brand must prepare for

The deepfake threat and beyond: 3 unconventional security crises every founder-led brand must prepare for

1. The journey began in engineering and corporate leadership, but an inner emptiness led to a discovery of the healing power of plants and holistic medicine. With faith, perseverance, and $10,000 in savings, the founder left a secure career to pioneer practitioner-grade Western herbal medicine in Singapore.

2. Over 27 years, every obstacle has become a lesson in resilience. The founder's practice of phytotherapy and product brand have survived various attacks, including customs requirements, compliance complaints, and recently, AI threats.

3. For the first lesson, reliance on a single supplier can work well but poses risks if disrupted. Building a resilient supply chain by developing relationships with multiple suppliers across different regions is crucial to withstand disruptions.

4. The second lesson involves documenting everything to shield against weaponized compliance. An attempt by a competitor to construct a fabricated compliance report through historical data fragments from digital client inquiries led to a surprise regulatory audit, causing severe psychological strain.

5. The third lesson highlights the need to protect brands from deepfake and AI scams. An international scam network created deepfake videos using publicly available videos of the founder to promote unauthorized and potentially unsafe diabetes treatments, falsely claiming endorsement. This shift in focus from running the business to managing a crisis demonstrates the importance of safeguarding not only products but also identity, reputation, and customer trust in the AI era.