Co-founder of the Ethereum cryptocurrency project Vitalik Buterin has issued a warning regarding the use of deepfakes, or movies produced with artificial intelligence (AI) that attempt to impersonate people, to influence people to transact money. Buterin claims that the problem is not just cryptographical and that it is possible to solve it by asking friends and coworkers security questions.
In the Deepfake Era, Vitalik Buterin, Co-Founder of Ethereum, Suggests Asking Security Questions
Co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin has made reference to the deepfake problem, saying that efforts at impersonation in security settings can be addressed without the need for cryptographic procedures. Buterin said that security questions and other precautions may have stopped a finance officer from being duped into making a $25 million transaction. The incident involved the use of deepfake technology by the attackers.
Buterin emphasized that attempts at deepfakes, which make use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, have become increasingly difficult to discern from the genuine thing, having progressed from “embarrassingly obvious and bad” over the years. Because of this, security queries and a plethora of mutual recognition methods are now required.
Buterin clarified:
Security questions are useful because they leverage knowledge that people are naturally adept at remembering, in contrast to a lot of other strategies that fail because they are not human-friendly.
In addition, additional strategies such as pre-arranged code words and the usage of a duress key—a term that can be used to inform the other party in the event of coercion or threat—can be used with these inquiries.
Additionally, regarding transactions, Buterin suggests incorporating delays for acts that are irreversible and are applied at the policy or even code level. “Staying safe is still quite possible as long as we adjust our strategies to the new reality of what is now easy to fake and what remains difficult to fake in a post-deepfake world,” he said.
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