The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought innovation to various sectors around the world, but as AI technologies evolve, the risk to personal security grows especially in the realm of cryptocurrency exchanges. This increasing threat centers particularly on the use of AI where deepfake personas are used to bypass secure identification systems and disrupt the authentication process. The much relied-upon Know-Your-Customer (KYC) measures employed by many cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance are at risk.
Binance, for instance, deploys video evidence in its KYC processes for user verification during certain transactions. These videos are usually tied with visual sources such as ID cards or passports and must be clean of watermarks or edits. However, the rise of AI has made creating deepfake video evidence rather straightforward. With the launch of AI tools capable of creating believable digital avatars in under two minutes, as demonstrated recently by HeyGen’s co-founder and CEO Joshua Xu, the security measures Binance puts in place seem to be growing exponentially vulnerable.
Even as AI and deepfakes pose threats to the crypto environment, it’s essential to remember that the technology itself is not evil; it’s the individuals that seek to misuse it. Joshua Xu himself stated that his company is enhancing their product’s video quality and voice technology to produce high-quality digital avatars. It’s a double-edged sword – the AI advancements that enable these sophisticated features are also the same that create problems in areas such as personal identification verification.
With regards to Binance, its chief security officer, Jimmy Su, has previously warned about the risks tied to AI deepfakes, asserting that the technology is rapidly advancing to a point where an AI deepfake could soon be able to dupe human verifiers. This potential threat brings about the imperative need for advancements in security measures, especially for platforms that leverage identity verification to offer or safeguard their services.
While AI technology continues to transform sectors and enable unthought-of possibilities, it has the potential to provide fertile ground for fraudulent activities if left unchecked. Forthcoming measures, be they regulatory or technological, must be designed to outpace these potential exploitations and ensure the safe usage of AI technology.
Given the rapidly advancing tech world, the coming AI-enhanced future might seem daunting, particularly with the security issues it brings. Stakeholders are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the vast possibilities that accompany AI are harnessed properly and securely. We might only hope that the benefits of these advancements will continue to outweigh their potential misuse.
Source: Cointelegraph
