Microsoft Teams to add third-party deepfake detection and impersonation warnings

Microsoft plans to enable Teams meetings to work with external deepfake detection providers and add safeguards against impersonation, according to updates published on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. Both capabilities are currently under development and will become generally available in November following a phased global deployment.

The deepfake detection feature will allow Teams to integrate signals from certified third-party vendors that scan meeting audio and video for signs of synthetic or manipulated content. Microsoft stated that "Organizations can enhance meeting security with synthetic audio and video detection solutions provided by certified third-party providers." The system will surface detection alerts and provide in-meeting controls to act on them.

According to Microsoft, "Third-party detection solutions analyze meeting media for signs of synthetic or manipulated audio and video and send detection signals to Teams, enabling integrated in-meeting experiences and controls."

A separate impersonation protection feature will help participants identify suspicious meeting organizers and attendees. Microsoft explained that "When Teams detects a potential impersonation attempt, it surfaces warnings and risk indicators to help users recognize suspicious identities and make more informed decisions when joining or participating in a meeting."

These updates are part of a broader security hardening effort for Teams. In December, Microsoft announced that administrators would gain the ability to restrict external users through the Defender portal starting in January, a measure aimed at blocking cybercriminals and ransomware operators who exploit Teams for social engineering campaigns. Last month, the company introduced automatic blurring of QR codes sent by external users to mitigate phishing and fraud risks.

Additional protective measures rolled out earlier include an August policy allowing admins to automatically exclude identified external bots from meetings. In September, Microsoft revealed plans to let users report suspicious guest invitations directly within Teams beginning in November, helping security teams detect and block phishing and other guest invitation-based attacks.