Kuala Lampur, Aug. 12 -- "Your pictures and personal information have been leaked. Let's discuss."

The Telegram message flashed on Heejin's phone from an anonymous sender. Attached was a photo of her taken years ago during high school.

Moments later, a second image arrived - a deepfake in which her face had been digitally spliced onto the naked body of a stranger. Heejin froze and did not respond, but the images kept coming.

Tragically, she is far from alone. A recent BBC News investigation exposed a massive deepfake pornography crisis in South Korea, primarily targeting young women and children across more than 500 schools and universities.

Deepfakes are synthetic media - videos, audio recordings, or images - generated using advanced...