Fri 07 July 2023:
Antivirus company, Eset, said Thursday that criminals transform regular pictures into nudes using ready-made AI tools and blackmail the owners of the photographs.
With easier artificial intelligence-based deepfake technology, which can create fake nude photos, visuals shared on social media can turn into blackmail tools.
The FBI warned for an increasing number of deepfake cases — visuals featuring adults and minors are circulated on social media and adult websites, Eset said in a statement.
According to the US federal law enforcement agency, criminals are using AI-generated images to put a new spin on blackmail. They’ve been seen using publicly-posted images on social media and running them through an AI image generator to create convincing (but entirely fake) nude photos, then extorting the victims for money or real photos, in a practice the bureau is calling “sextortion.”
The bureau says that fake explicit images of both adults and children have been spread on porn sites for general harassment in addition to being sent directly to victims for extortion attempts. The FBI has noticed an increase in victim reports over the last few months.
Deepfake technology uses neural networks that allow it to imitate someone’s appearance or voice. Visuals are compressed with an encoder and then regenerated by a decoder, according to Eset.
Criminals can emulate similar facial movements by indistinctly placing a person’s face on someone else’s body.
Accessing technology is easier than ever for everyone, and novice users can use it convincingly and that should worry everyone, said Eset.
It said it is too difficult to remove fake content from online platforms.
The firm suggested being more careful sharing visuals on the internet, especially for children, and to safety ensure social media accounts.
Victims’ Options
Options for victims are few and frustrating. According to the FBI’s report (spotted by BleepingComputer), parents are recommended to closely monitor their children’s online activity and periodically search for their personal info in places it shouldn’t be.
A good tip is using reverse image search services like Google or TinEye to find places where your personal photos may have been posted without your consent. Victims are instructed to not pay or otherwise appease blackmailers — it does not guarantee removal of images or video from the internet — and otherwise follow standard social media safety steps like declining friend requests from strangers and utilizing any available privacy settings.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
