Banking Institutions Have Begun Using Voice ID Tech despite Security Risks

Lewis Ross December 19, 2021

Voice ID technology has been implemented to reduce fraud and make banking more secure, but the technology also comes with a number of security risks. With worries about voice hacking abound in recent months, some experts are now questioning whether or not this type of biometric identification is even worth it anymore.

Voice biometrics is a new technology that has been gaining popularity over the past few years. Despite the security risks, banking institutions have begun using voice ID tech.

Banking Institutions Have Begun Using Voice ID Tech despite Security Risks

Banking-Institutions-Have-Begun-Using-Voice-ID-Tech-despite-Security Image courtesy of TheDigitalArtist (Pixabay)

Voice ID, a voice biometric technology, has been used by a number of financial institutions and a handful of IFSPs as a method of account access. Despite worries about deep voice technologies and the increased availability of recordings of individuals through social media and other public sources, this is occurring.

Table of Contents

Social Engineering and Deep Fakes

Because Chase is far from the only company to use biometric security, it’s possible that it’s reached a point where it’s no longer a cause for worry. Many significant and well-known institutions have also included it into their operations. The possibility of deep fake or deep voice vulnerabilities mixed with social engineering, on the other hand, is genuine, as at least one incidence has been reported in which a bank employee was duped into transferring $35 million dollars as part of a fraud in 2020.

A bank manager in Hong Kong got a call in early 2020 from a guy whose voice he recognized—a director from a firm with whom he’d previously talked. The director had wonderful news: his firm was set to complete a $35 million purchase, and he needed the bank to approve certain payments. The operations were being coordinated by a lawyer called Martin Zelner, and the bank manager could see emails from the director and Zelner in his inbox, verifying what money needed to transfer where. The bank manager started making the transactions after verifying that everything looked to be in order.

The issue here isn’t with “deep voice” technology. This is a ludicrously insecure security system that permits money to be transferred over the phone. https://t.co/ClzzxILOz7

October 14, 2021 — Anthony DeRosa (@Anthony)

Apart from the method’s possible security problems, it seems that some institutions do not even provide an opt-in or opt-out option. Enrollment may begin with as little as a phone call. When one customer sought to contact their bank, Chase, an automated greeting greeted them with “a disclaimer that it would be fingerprinting my voice,” and they were not given the option to opt out.

1639589588_578_Banking-Institutions-Have-Begun-Using-Voice-ID-Tech-despite-Security Chase (photo)

Users of Voice Biometrics who are currently known

Sources: Forbes, Key Discussions (via Techdirt).