lloyds bank22 Sep 2018 10:57
Voice recognition: is it really as secure as it sounds?
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09/22/2018 | 08:05 am
With millions of us accustomed to barking orders at Alexa and Siri, it’s probably not surprising that voice recognition services offered by banks and other organisations are taking off in a big way.
It emerged this week that HM Revenue & Customs has so far signed up about 6.7 million people to its voice identification (or “voice ID”) service, while HSBC says it has more than 10,000 people registering each week.
Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Vodafone and TalkTalk are just a few of the other big names that have brought in, or are rolling out, these services. They let people access their accounts simply by using their voice – so you can say goodbye to hard-to-remember passwords and pin codes.
One leading futurologist reckons it won’t be too long before the technology takes over from contactless when it comes to making payments.
Also known as “voice biometrics,” it confirms your identity by analysing your voice’s unique characteristics. Companies say it makes accessing your account fast and easy – plus it reduces fraud. But how secure is it? This week Guardian Money was told that if there are clips of your voice out there on the web – on a podcast, say – there is technology that can create a very convincing imitation of your voice
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax, says it has been rolling out its service gradually this year, and it has been successfully used about 1m times to date. It adds: “This will make a significant difference to vulnerable customers who may sometimes struggle to pass security with pins or memorable information. Our oldest registered customer is 100.”
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