iProov shows how face-swapping app can fool liveness detection on financial apps

​iProov has demonstrated that a readily available generative AI face-swapping tool could be used to evade biometric liveness detection software and perform injection attacks, endangering remote identity verification Know Your Customer (KYC) processes used by financial, banking and cryptocurrency mobile apps. The “critical, high-risk” vulnerability could potentially expose users across the world, according to the biometric identity verification company.

Injection attack scenarios are playing out in the real world, with iProov’s Identity Verification Threat Report released in February showing a 300 percent increase in face swap attacks since 2023 on the face biometrics systems used for KYC.

A case study on the attack scenario was published by the firm’s in-house Red Team in the Mitre ATLAS (Adversarial Threat Landscape for Artificial-Intelligence Systems), a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques against AI-enabled systems maintained by U.S. not-for-profit organization Mitre Corporation.

“We’ve seen an explosion in attack vectors relating to identity verification over the last 12 months, largely driven by advances in generative AI and the wide availability of low-cost tools,” says iProov Chief Scientific Officer Andrew Newell. “The publication of this latest Mitre ATLAS case study is part of the vital process of identifying and documenting such methodologies.”

UK-based iProov tested a desktop app named Faceswap that uses generative AI to swap faces in a video in real-time. The team obtained user identity information and high-definition facial images from online sources and used the software to create live deepfake videos.

During the identity verification stage on a financial services application, the team streamed the deepfake video using the Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) and an Android app called Virtual Camera: Live Assist, which allows users to replace the device’s default camera feed with a video stream. The team successfully evaded the liveness system.

iProov’s conclusion is that active liveness detection solutions, which rely on analyzing image artifacts and user movements, can be replicated by sophisticated AI-generated deepfakes.

“Substituting a mobile device’s camera with a virtual camera application allows attackers to bypass device-level security controls,” says the company.

To avoid such scenarios, organizations should seek vendors that have been tested against the recent European standard CEN 18099, which provides testing protocols against injection attacks, iProov adds. iProov’s injection attack detection (IAD) software was confirmed compliant with CEN 18099 “High” in a Level 2 evaluation performed by Ingenium and announced in November.

The firm recently deployed its own liveness detection solution in Thirdfort’s client due diligence platform to help prevent identity fraud in legal and property transactions and in Hypr’s Affirm platform to combat workforce identity fraud.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  face swap  |  generative AI  |  injection attacks  |  iProov  |  KYC  |  Mitre Corp.  |  remote identity proofing