OPINION: A fake kidnapping in the US last month raised the stakes in artificial intelligence-enabled crime, with scammers apparently using captured audio to create a fake distress message from a 15-year-old girl to her anxious parents.

The million-dollar ransom ploy was thwarted, but it seems only a matter of time before such a “deep fake” scam succeeds.

The shocking news revived concerns about cybersecurity, and cropped up in a session on the topic at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston this week.