ID R&D on the use of AI in fraud attacks and the metaverse
Can you tell me about ID R&D and your roles and responsibilities there?
As CEO at ID R&D, a Mitek company, my role is to shape the vision for the company. I oversee and support teams while driving the strategic direction – one that allows us to execute our dream of a safe, secure and passwordless world. We want to do this while delivering artificial intelligence (AI), biometrics, and authentication solutions that tighten security whilst removing friction from the user experience.
How does your company utilise AI?
At the heart of ID R&D, our passion lies in removing friction for good customers. We want to strengthen security to fight against increasing fraud attacks and deepfakes in a way that shields honest people from any disruption.
AI is the fundamental framework that enables us to deliver on that vision, through biometric and liveness detection products. Our AI solutions integrate with devices we use in our everyday lives, covering mobile, web, messaging, and telephone channels, as well as in smart speakers, set-top boxes, and other IoT devices. We were the first to launch voice biometrics on an NPU for smart home applications. We’re also working with companies to ensure secure face biometrics for in-store payments. To top it off, our recent acquisition by Mitek now sees us leading the fight against identity fraud as one team.
When thinking about the metaverse and facial recognition, how does AI help us ensure that animations really are our colleagues when we're sharing IP or data?
The metaverse is set to introduce online locations where intellectual property, personal details, and private conversations are shared between people. To gain trust, metaverse providers must be able to reassure customers that the avatars they interact with are who they say they are.
To weed out the fakes from real people, metaverse providers need strong identity verification. It needs to cover the sign-up process in order to verify the identity behind the avatar in a frictionless way. This can be achieved through deploying facial recognition technologies with liveness detection.
Biometrics is the key here. Biometrics provide value through the security they bring, which includes matching the person behind the avatar to a genuine identification document.
Can you tell me about AI-powered liveness detection and its importance?
AI-powered liveness technologies check that the face is indeed present behind the camera and not spoofed using paper printouts, masks or digital displays. It’s essential to replace weak links like passwords, PINs, and security questions, which can easily be shared, borrowed, or stolen by criminals. Think of it this way: you can’t borrow a face or a voice, or convincingly replicate it to pretend to be someone else. Biometric liveness detection means a mask or image won’t cut it and it can determine a spoof with lightning speed.
Whilst facial recognition provides fast and highly reliable authentication for verifying that people are who they say they are, it’s liveness detection that prevents fraud.
What can we expect from ID R&D and its use of AI-enabled technology in the future?
We want to help realise a future in which security is an enabler instead of a barrier. It starts with organisations demonstrating trust in the genuine customer by giving them effortless access to their accounts, products, and services.
The next step involves strategic pairing with the right technologies to stamp out fraud. In our latest research report, we found AI machines are 10 times faster than humans at detecting spoofed faces. It’s clear that organisations can achieve tremendous efficiencies by using identity verification systems that include a biometric component with liveness detection. In fact, we’re already taking liveness to the next level by looking at the liveness of documents like passports and driving licenses, to check fraudsters are not using digitally-displayed document spoofs.
The tech is out there. It’s up to organisations to seize it, realise the benefits, and enhance data privacy protection on a whole other level. At ID R&D, we want to see biometrics continue to help keep consumers safe in a world rife with deepfakes, identity theft, and fraud in the most effortless way possible.
