conversations with a telephone hotline to catch usually with security issues to the place of residence or Vintage. In the case of the Swisscom the Ritual falls away for some time. Callers will be identified on the basis of a so-called voice print.
media spokeswoman Sabrina Hubacher explains how this works: “Voiceprint measures various vocal characteristics, such as, for example, frequency, speed, pronunciation, accent. From these numerous features have an individual voice print.” The within seconds happens automatically and in the Background.
The procedure was safe, promises the Telecom companies: Analyses and not the sound of your voice or what is said. The characteristics of the voice prints can be changed either by a cold or hoarseness by aging of the vocal cords. Therefore, self-related should not be able to outsmart with very similar voices in the System. If the detection noise, for example, because the background is not unique, the traditional security issues.
criticism
The Telecom provider indicates to the caller at the beginning of the call, with an automated announcement on Voiceprint. Who doesn’t want his voice to be profiled, may appeal to the Hotline-staff contradiction or via the Online customer center unsubscribe. The Online communications consultant Su Franke is not enough: a note on the voting profile begins with the well-known sentence, that calls for training purposes can be recorded. Who depends on and customer hotlines, to get the sentence often said. That is not likely to result in a lot of listening so carefully. “The Swisscom operates transparent”, criticized Su Franke: “No protest will be considered consent.”
what? With this terse announcement prior to the Support call (for training purposes I give, that @Swisscom_de accommodates a voice print recorded…). Who is/was the most aware of? #shift2019 Understands the client? (Hallelujah)
— Su Franke (@can) February 28, 2019
Franke has protested last week on Twitter and a lot of Echo is triggered. She is not convinced that a lot of people know what you’re getting into: a voice profile, much more would be out than just the identity. An algorithm could infer the existence of disease, personality or social behavior. Such biometric information could be affected by the data theft in the wrong hands: “Every human being would want to protect, as soon as he is aware of it.”
The voice betrays how we look
Swisscom stressed, your file format does not allow for a use other than those for customer identification. Because it is actually amazing what profiles can be made of universal Voting everything. Last year, Fortune reported “” of the so-called micro-signatures. They provide clues to mood and state of intoxication, height and weight, ethnicity, and the origin of the speaker. Even the appearance can be determined. Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are developing a method that is outlined on the basis of the voice of a 3-D portrait. If it works reliably, does this mean pranks on the end of an anonymous Phone. And the beginning of new methods in the fight against crime. With an audio recording of a fraction of a second would be a Criminal convict.
The company promise from the voice-print is not only an identification from legitimate customers, but also protection against fraud: banks lead thieves in the black lists of credit card fraudsters and identity. Largely unnoticed by the Public, have set up in the last few years, not only Telecom companies but also banks and insurance companies, such voice recognition systems. The newspaper “The Guardian”, wrote the end of 2018, the British HSBC Bank, would register each week, more than 10’000 people.
5 billion identifications per year
The Analyst, Opus Research estimates that there will be by the end of 2020 of 600 million people and a voting profile (PDF). In 2017, there were still 160 million. Nuance claims to be the most important supplier for voice biometrics solutions – some users are expected to him from Text and speech recognition, to know programs. Nuance talks of a rapid growth in the last few years, since 2001, the first commercial solution was implemented: in 2012, awakened the interest, and in 2016 the voice biometrics has reached the mass market. Today, five billion are held identifications per year.
In this video, advertising the software manufacturer Nuance shows like the voice replaced the password.
Nuance occurs because because the advertising drum for the voice recognition: it is easy to implement and have significant advantages over the traditional password (PDF). Even if a Hacker were to capture the voice profiles are worthless. They only worked in one direction, and enabled way no reconstruction of the voice or speech. In addition, “the physical characteristics of inimitable, even if language rhythm, Intonation or accent to imitate” – the claim of the industry is.
However, even if the voice should be a perfect password, you will not overlook the new risks to privacy: the voting profiles can be easily created, without the Knowledge and consent of the person Concerned. Any App that accepts voice input, could be abused by the NSA or any other intelligence service for clandestine profiling of failure, an expert warned as early as 2016, in the business magazine Forbes.com.
prints the existence of such a secretly recorded Vote or not, we do not know. But one thing is clear: it Is registered, the voiceprint can be detected a Person to the end of your life and named as soon as you open your mouth. And, of course, the voice biometrics with other Tracking can measures combined. It is another piece of the Puzzle when it comes to a gap-free Monitoring.
Even the mood will be live
analyzes The voice biometrics reaches into our daily lives, without the need for a broad debate would take place. Republic.ch has recently shown how that the company of the votes from candidates analyze, and even with the absolutely inconsequential conversations, a pretty accurate character profile. Precire is the company behind this Software . It analyzes not only the character but also the mood, and live during discussions with customers: “your language individually, and types to meet customers’ requests.” One must ask, however, whether the customers feel they are treated fairly, if they be such lights.
Since it’s not actually reassuring that the technology is apparently so perfectly, as the developers claim: in 2017, a presenter of the BBC made it into the Bank account of his brother’s log by mimicking his voice. And there are already Algorithms in development, by voting for a speaker of samples can perfectly mimic anyone Who wants to not analyze, and perhaps at some point a robot of his Bank to make calls. (Editorial Tamedia)
Created: 05.03.2019, 18:43 PM
