Meta is expanding its paid verification service for businesses, adding three new tiers to the program that offers extra perks to companies willing to pay a monthly subscription. The company began testing the service, called Meta Verified, with businesses after rolling out a paid verification for individuals.
With the new plans, which are coming first to Australia, and New Zealand, Meta is offering a much wider range of services to business owners that rely on its platform. Under the new structure, the basic “standard” plan is $14.99/month. It offers a verification badge, higher ranking in search, impersonation protection, the ability to add links to images and access to customer support. (Each subscription covers a single Facebook or Instagram account, the program is expected to roll out to WhatsApp “soon.”)
While that base plan is now the same price for businesses as it is for individuals, companies will pay a hefty premium for the extra perks. There are three additional tiers for business owners to choose from: the $44.99/month “plus” plan, the $119.99 “premium” plan and $349.99/month “max” plan. Each of these includes additions like the ability to add links to a Reels posts, fast-tracked customer support and more profile customization options.
Meta
The most expensive plan also expands impersonation protection to up to five employees as well as extra customer service perks. It includes a semiannual “account review,” which will consist of “personalized guidance on their content strategy.” And it allows account owners to request a phone call from a Meta customer service representative for help with account issues and other problems.
During a briefing with reporters, Meta’s VP of new monetization experiences Pratiti Raychoudhury said the expansion of Meta Verified is meant “to meet businesses where they are in their journey on our apps.” She said Meta will continue to tweak its offerings as more companies sign up for verification.
Google has been emailing Android users about an update to the Play Store allowing you to enable biometric verification for purchases. We got the message over the weekend buried in our inbox. It states users can set fingerprint or facial recognition on the digital storefront as long as they have a mobile device that supports the technology. Once set up, “you’ll be asked to verify it’s you with biometrics” every time you buy something on the platform.
We can confirm the update is live as it appeared on our phone. To turn it on, open the Play Store app then tap Settings near the bottom. Expand Purchase Verification and toggle the switch to activate Biometric Verification. The storefront will then ask you to type in your password to confirm the setting change.
It’s important to mention that the final step will change within the coming weeks. According to the email, Google will let users use biometrics instead of requiring them to enter their account password.
The purpose of this feature is to seemingly provide an extra layer of safety to protect yourself against unauthorized transactions in case your phone is ever compromised. You don’t have to use a password anymore, although you will always have the option.
(Image credit: Future)
Minor, yet important detrails
There are a few minor details you should know regarding the feature.
At a glance, it seems the biometric verification will primarily live on the Play Store. We attempted to purchase an ebook and were met with a fingerprint reader to authenticate our identity before checkout. Then we discovered the security feature will appear on third-party apps, but its presence on them varies.
We purchased items for the game Arknights on our Android phone to see if a biometric verification reader popped up. It didn’t. The checkout went through without any hindrance. However, when we signed up for a three-month trial on Amazon Music, a Play Store message showed up asking if we would like to enable biometrics for future purchases.
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This leads us to believe that some apps will support the new verification method while others won’t. It may depend on whether or not a developer decides to support the security fixture on their product.
Do note this has been our personal experience with the tool. It may operate differently for you. Google didn’t provide much information in their email or Play Store Help page. Of course, we reached out to the tech giant for clarification and will update the story if we learn anything new.
In the digital landscape, where identities are woven into every aspect of our online interactions, the emergence of AI-driven deepfakes has become a disruptive force, challenging the very essence of identity verification. In navigating this ever-evolving terrain, CIOs and IT leaders must dissect the intricate interplay between emerging technologies and their profound impact on the integrity of identity management processes.
Online identity verification today consists of two key steps. Firstly, a user being asked to take a picture of their government-issued identity document, which is inspected for authenticity. And secondly, the user being asked to take a selfie, which is biometrically compared to the picture on the identity document. Traditionally only used in regulated know-your-customer (KYC) use cases such as online bank account opening, identity verification is now used in a range of contexts today from interactions with government services, preserving the integrity of online marketplace platforms, employee onboarding, and improving security during password reset processes.
Subversion of the identity verification process through fraudulent identity presentation, for example by using a deepfake of an individual to defeat the selfie step, thus introduces considerable risk to an organization.
Akif Khan
1. Mechanisms to subvert deepfake attacks
As attackers leverage the relentless progress of GenAI to craft increasingly convincing deepfakes, CIOs and IT leaders must adopt a proactive stance, bolstering their defenses with a multifaceted approach. Key to this is ensuring that your identity verification vendor deploys robust liveness detection.
This capability is deployed during the second step when the selfie is being taken, to check whether the selfie is in fact being taken of a live person who is genuinely present during the interaction. This liveness detection can be active, in which a user responds to a prompt such as turning their head, or it may be passive, in which subtle features such as micro movements or depth perspective are assessed without the user having to move.
The integration of active and passive liveness detection techniques, coupled with additional signals indicative of an attack, offers a holistic defense framework against evolving deepfake attacks. Such additional signals that can indicate an attack can be revealed using device profiling, behavioral analytics and location intelligence. Identity verification vendors may develop some of these capabilities natively, or use partners to deliver them, but they should be packaged up as a single solution for you to deploy.
2. Leveraging GenAI to improve identity verification
The versatility of GenAI presents intriguing opportunities for defense against deepfake attacks. By leveraging GenAI’s ability to develop synthetic datasets, product leaders can reverse-engineer attack variants and fine-tune their algorithms for improved detection rates. Beyond cybersecurity applications, GenAI can also address issues of demographic bias in face biometrics processes.
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Traditional methods of obtaining diverse training datasets pose challenges in terms of cost and effort, often resulting in biased machine-learning algorithms. However, the creation of deepfake images using GenAI offers a solution by generating large datasets of synthetic faces with artificially elevated levels of training data for underrepresented demographic groups. This not only reduces the barriers to obtaining diverse data sets but also helps minimize bias in biometric processes. Challenge your identity verification vendors as to whether they are innovating and using GenAI for positive purposes, not just treating it as a threat.
Select vendors who have embraced this new world and taken proactive measures such as introducing bounty programs to challenge hackers to defeat liveness detection processes. By incentivizing individuals to identify and report potential vulnerabilities, vendors and hence organizations can bolster their defensive capabilities against deepfake attacks.
As we chart a course towards a secure digital future, collaboration emerges as the cornerstone of our collective defense against deepfake adversaries. By fostering dynamic partnerships and cultivating a culture of vigilance, CIOs and IT leaders can forge a resilient ecosystem that withstands the relentless onslaught of AI-driven deception. Armed with insight, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to authenticity, look to embark on a journey towards a future where identities remain inviolable in the face of technological upheaval.
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The procedure also necessitates a quick selfie, which will be cross-referenced with the official ID using biometrics by a private company. However, the benefits of this kind of verification are currently rather minor.
Twitter’s new account verification process necessitates the submission of a government-issued picture ID as well as a live selfie.
The verification mechanism will be accessible only to paying customers. Twitter (previously known as X) has been urging its premium subscribers to sign up for the “ID verification” system by presenting a pop-up message about it, according to TechCrunch’s initial finding.
The prompt claims that you must have a government-issued picture ID to access your account. This should take no more than five minutes.
Twitter built the ID system, according to a company assistance manual, to prevent account “impersonation” and to “increase the overall integrity and trust on our platform.” This is because the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, changed the rules so that anybody who pays for Twitter Blue (previously X Premium) may acquire the blue verified checkmark on their account.
Because Twitter is requesting one of their most sensitive documents, the reveal of the verification process last month aroused privacy concerns.
Users are requested to grant the verification system access to collect biometric data. Twitter is reportedly collaborating with an external Israeli business called Au10tix to extract facial data from both the official ID and the live selfie in order to validate a user’s identify. According to Twitter’s new privacy policy, users must consent to Au10tix retaining their data for up to 30 days.
As a result of verifying your account, you will “receive a visibly labeled ID verification in the pop-up that appears when clicking on your blue check mark.” They will get “prioritized support” from the firm, which implies they will receive answers to their issues more quickly.
Although the verification procedure seems to be intrusive, it is entirely optional. Users may reject the ID verification pop-up window, however Twitter suggests that doing so will ultimately provide access to further functions.
The company’s help center states that “users who choose to participate in this optional ID verification may receive additional benefits associated with the specific X feature in the future.” In the future, verified accounts will get a blue check mark much more rapidly, and users will have “greater flexibility in making frequent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle).”
The support post also mentions that Twitter may request government-issued IDs from chosen users “to ensure the safety and security of accounts on our platform.”
