Access Management , Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Identity & Access Management
How Deepfakes Can Defeat Video ID Verification Tests
Ilya Volovik of Gemini Advisory Describes Research Findings
Banking institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and other companies have begun implementing video-based identity verification to establish more rigorous account security. But Gemini Advisory analysts have observed an increasing number of posts on dark web forums about bypassing sites’ identity verification with deepfake technology that uses selfies or videos. Ilya Volovik, research team lead at Gemini Advisory, describes the commoditization of deepfake technology.
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"In the past, you needed to be an engineer in that space to create a deepfake video," Volovik says. "Nowadays, they have advanced this technology so far that you really don't have to be a computer engineer in order to create videos. So essentially, they give you step-by-step instructions. … Some of them will even dive deeper than that. For example … one individual posted a tutorial of how to commit fraud on one financial institution.”
In a video interview with Information Security Media Group, Volovik discusses:
- Why digital identity verification is shifting to the use of photographs and videos;
- Dark web activity and the commoditization of deepfake generating software;
- Who is winning the deepfake arms race.
Volovik is the research team lead at Gemini Advisory. In this role, he identifies and analyzes dark web activity and assesses the exposure of financial institutions, government entities, and private enterprises. He started his cyber career at the U.S. Air Force and continued to develop his cyber skills at the New York City District Attorney’s office as part of its cyber intelligence unit. He has focused on identifying Eastern European threats to U.S. institutions, monitoring and identifying cybercriminals, mapping criminal networks and working with U.S. government agencies to identify cybercriminal targets of national interest.
