In Australia: My Voice Identifies Me

Voice biometrics technology, once heralded as a revolutionary leap in security, is now facing scrutiny due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). In Australia, voice identification systems have been widely adopted by banks, government services, and access control systems, promising high-tech security through unique voiceprints.

However, as Ryan Williams explores in this article, the technology's reliance on lower quality audio inputs and the increasing capabilities of AI-driven voice cloning have exposed critical vulnerabilities. This article delves into the workings of voice biometrics and highlights the pressing need for reassessment of its security efficacy.

How Does Voice Biometrics Technology Work? 

The process of voice biometric identification consists of two steps: 

Voiceprint extraction – a voice biometric system analyzes a voice sample and creates a mathematical model of the person’s voice (a voiceprint). If the system is analyzing the person’s voice for the first time, this phase is also called voice enrollment. 

Voiceprint comparison – the extracted voiceprint is compared with other stored voiceprints to find a match necessary for successful speaker verification or speaker identification. 

Of these two steps, voiceprint extraction is more time-consuming while voiceprint comparison is very fast – millions of voiceprint comparisons can be performed in a second. 

Voice Enrollment