>

In the Deepfake Era, It's Time to Overhaul Identity Verification

Online identity verification (IDV) just keeps getting more challenging.

With spoofing techniques available to bad actors and with AI and deepfake technology becoming increasingly sophisticated, legacy IDV technologies and techniques are no longer up to the task.

Deepfakes pose a serious threat to IDV

Deepfakes are fake photos or videos that can be used to impersonate someone. They are created using AI technology, and they can be incredibly convincing. Once a fraudster has created a deepfake, they can use it to try and bypass ID verification and selfie verification.

• In 2020, a study by the University of California, Berkeley found that deepfakes can fool facial recognition systems up to 90% of the time.
• Another study, by the University of Washington, found that deepfakes can be used to bypass voice recognition systems with up to 80% accuracy.

Legacy IDV technologies are not up to the task

Legacy IDV technologies, such as knowledge-based authentication (KBA) and document verification, are no longer effective at preventing deepfake-based fraud. KBA relies on users to answer questions about their personal information, such as their mother's maiden name or the street they grew up on. However, this information can be easily obtained by fraudsters through social media or data breaches.

Document verification relies on users to submit photos or scans of their identity documents. However, these documents can be easily forged or altered using digital editing software.

New IDV technologies are needed

To address the challenges posed by deepfakes, new IDV technologies are needed. These technologies must be able to reliably distinguish between real and fake photos and videos, and they must be able to resist spoofing techniques.

• One promising new IDV technology is behavioral biometrics. Behavioral biometrics measures a user's unique behavioral patterns, such as the way they type or move their mouse. These patterns are difficult to fake, and they can be used to identify users even if they are using a deepfake.
• Another promising new IDV technology is liveness detection. Liveness detection uses a variety of techniques to determine whether a user is a real person or a bot. These techniques can include facial recognition, voice recognition, and motion detection.

Conclusion

The deepfake era is here, and it is time to overhaul identity verification. Legacy IDV technologies are no longer up to the task of preventing deepfake-based fraud. New IDV technologies are needed that can reliably distinguish between real and fake photos and videos, and that can resist spoofing techniques.

By adopting new IDV technologies, businesses can help to protect themselves from the growing threat of deepfake-based fraud.