A BBC reporter recently opened an HSBC bank account and signed up for its voice recognition ID service. His fraternal twin brother then called the bank. Putting on his best imitation of his twin, he easily skirted past the security test, which involves saying, “My voice is my password.”
The BBC, which aired the finding last week on its Click technology program, said it is believed to be the “first time the voice security measure has been breached.” It marked another dark cloud for the hope of biometrics technology, which is increasingly used at immigration crossings and banks.
