Facial recognition: what risks, what techniques to avoid it?
Facial recognition has always had a little taste of science fiction and good spy movies. We all dream of being James Bond or Ethan Hunt entering a top secret laboratory wearing contact lenses and a mask perfectly reproducing the face of this mad scientist who wants to explode the Earth.
And then the technology became reality and we quickly became disillusioned.
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Smile, you’re being filmed
When the world and its billion surveillance cameras turns into a lab and you’re already inside without realizing it, things get complicated. So not all of them are equipped with facial recognition, but the rapid democratization of the application makes no secret of the ultimate objective.
Also read: Security, anonymity … How to change your IP address?
What will be the freedom of movement when you are tracked down from night to morning in the street and filmed without your consent ? When will your simple face allow corporations and governments to have access to all of your personal information?
In France, this technology is officially prohibited on public roads live. On the other hand, it can be applied, since 2012, a posteriori, by the police services for example if a case justifies it. However, experiments are allowed to town halls and companies and some do not deprive themselves of it by calling on private companies.
During confinement, this was the case in Cannes to verify that the inhabitants were wearing the mask. In Metz, the football club has invested in software and has a file available to those who are prohibited from attending team matches. Although this has never been implemented before, the Larrivé law fight against hooliganism could legitimize its use.
Because the establishment of recognition is done always with the aim of providing more security. It can make it possible, for example, to arrest terrorists or criminals on the run. A few years from the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and millions of tourists who will then land in the capital, the question seriously arises about its official establishment.
Until then, we’ll explain the flaws of such technology.
I am not who you think I am!
So far from us the idea of turning you into someone suspicious in the street, but it will take go through cosmetic changes to make you look different.
First, there is the so-called “Jason Bourne” method. A headgear, dark glasses, put a mask on your mouth and you will ignore all the identifications in the world. In any case, those in public places. If you arrive at the airport dressed up like this, you risk missing your flight.
Much smarter and more daring at heart, you can paint your face with black color stripes as well as shiny and asymmetrical patterns. This indirect tribute to Cubist painters indeed puts facial recognition software at a serious disadvantage, which then has difficulty identifying you. In some cities like London, demonstrations of people wearing make-up are organized to protest against the proliferation of cameras in the streets.
I am the one you think I am not
We must not forget that facial recognition also equips many systems that we use daily by choice. It is for example the unlocking of certain telephones which can be done by scanning your face with the camera of the smartphone.
Such a process could only lead to drifts on the side of hackers and thieves who compete in deceptions to slip through the cracks.
With technology deepfake, you can indeed nowadays very easily implant the face of someone on that of another. You just need to get your hands on some videos of the person who filmed themselves and you can recreate it without much hassle with the right software.
With the number of self-service videos circulating on social media, hackers can help themselves and have fun. It is so possible to unlock a phone or have access to private information on other services by broadcasting a video in front of the camera.
In the United States, you can receive your unemployment by scanning your face to prove your identity. The system has of course been hijacked by some who have used pockets already not very full of unfortunate victims.
We will have to follow this evolution with interest before taking out his makeup box or imposing the Jason Bourne look.
