Disinformation News Digest for 12/21/19
Matthew F. Ferraro
Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security | Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology
News on Disinformation & Deepfakes from the past week: The President signed the first-ever federal legislation on #deepfakes on Friday when he made the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) law; Reuters launched free online courses for journalists on how to spot deepfakes; deepfakes pose unique threats of identity theft; WIPO asks if the owners of the sources for deepfakes have a claim to any copyrights
Author's Note: For the past several months, I have been summarizing for some of my colleagues recent news developments in the world of disinformation and deepfakes, with a special emphasis on developments related to business and the private sector. I now make edited versions of those summaries public here. This does not constitute attorney advising in any way and reflects only my personal selection of interesting items and analysis. Enjoy!
1) First Federal Legislation on Deepfakes Signed Into Law
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the nation’s first federal law related to deepfakes. The law (1) requires a comprehensive report on the foreign weaponization of deepfakes; (2) requires the government to notify Congress of foreign deepfake-disinformation activities targeting US elections; and (3) establishes a “Deepfakes Prize” competition to encourage the research or commercialization of deepfake-detection technologies. These sections were part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the President signed before leaving for holiday.
2) Reuters launches free online course backed by Facebook to help journalists spot 'deepfakes' – Press Gazette (UK), Dec. 20, 2019
“Reuters has launched a free online course to help journalists spot so-called “deepfakes” and other manipulated videos, images and audio content in the fight against fake news and disinformation. The Identifying and Tackling Manipulated Media course is sponsored by the Facebook Journalism Project and is available now in English, French, Spanish and Arabic on the Reuters website….The course aims to teach journalists how to spot fakes and verify genuine content. It will be available in more languages next year.”
3) How Deepfakes Could Become A Threat To Your Identity – Forbes, Dec. 20, 2019
This article by Rene Hendrikse reviews some well-known threats of deepfakes and explores the dangers of AI-enabled social engineering:
“[A]s deepfake technology matures, driven by advances in AI, big data and software manipulation, a much more concerning use of deepfakes is emerging: producing nearly flawless falsified digital identities and ID documents.
Someone with access to these technologies would potentially be able to open a bank account or sign up for products and services in someone else’s name, ‘borrowing’ the digital identity – or creating a brand new one for someone who doesn’t even exist. This means that fake digital identities could impact nearly every organisation that has implemented digital onboarding, or purchase or service verification, services. In the age of the instant real-time experience, this is any company who wants to win new digital-savvy customers – from banks, to fintechs, to e-commerce providers, and sharing economy platforms….The onus is on businesses to proactively protect themselves and their customers. Deploying technology that verifies identities through AI can match the growing sophistication of deepfakes, and should be considered as part of the solution.”
4) Top 10 Cybercrime and Online Fraud predictions for 2020 – FinExtra, Dec. 18, 2019
Uri Rivner, Chief Cyber Officer at BioCatch, lists his top ten cybercrime and online fraud predictions for 2020:
1. Deep fake technology will be used for identity theft
2. LiFi networks will be targeted by hackers
3. UK identity databases will come under attack by fraudsters
4. ID Mules ("With the newly launched Social Security Administration real-time verification of social security number vs other personal details, synthetic ID scams as we know it will have to change; the long-term criminal response would probably be using identity mules. Those are essentially ‘identities for hire’ – real people who wish to boost their credit score, new-to-credit users like students and immigrants who wish to build a good FICO score, etc. They’ll knowingly or unknowingly give their identity to cyber criminals, and they would build the credit file alright – but then use it to open fake accounts.")
5. FinTech companies will be fraudsters’ next big target
6. Chatbot and voice assistance payment fraud will rise
7. AI will help prevent subscription services fraud
8. Zelle fraud levels will surge
9. Selfie biometric data will be the new dark web money maker
10. Money mules will become an endangered species
Link https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/18267/top-10-cybercrime-and-online-fraud-predictions-for-2020
5) WIPO Raises Questions About Artificial Intelligence and Copyright – Torrent Freak, Dec. 17, 2019
“The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has launched a public consultation about artificial intelligence and intellectual property. The organization also has a special interest in ‘deep fakes’. While these are generally created based on human input, they often rely on copyrighted content from third-parties….Do the owners of the deep fake sources have a claim to any copyrights? Should they be otherwise be compensated?
“Since deep fakes are created on the basis of data that may be the subject of copyright, to whom should the copyright in a deep fake belong? Should there be a system of equitable remuneration for persons whose likenesses and ‘performances’ are used in a deep fake?” WIPO writes.
These questions also apply in a broader sense. A lot of AI-generated content relies on data-input from other copyrighted content. If AIs use third-party content, can they then infringe copyrights as well?
Similar topics were also raised in a related public consultation that was launched by the US Patent and Trademark Office a few weeks ago. This consultation is still open for submissions.
The full list of the WIPO’s questions and issues, including additional background information, is available on the WIPO website. For those who want to chime in, the comment period closes on February 14.”
Link: https://torrentfreak.com/wipo-raises-questions-about-artificial-intelligence-and-copyright-191216/
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Thank you for reading and Happy Holidays! - MFF