Treat facial recognition like password, says cybersecurity company

The FaceApp application and #FaceAppChallenge are again making the rounds on social networks with the free launch of the “gender swap” filter.

The app allows user to take photos of themselves and apply filters that show what they will look like as the opposite gender or an older person.

The resulting craze has again raised concerns on the security of the facial recognition application and the risks of sharing this personal and private information.

According to a global cybersecurity company, with people spending more time on social media amid the pandemic, they have also turned to sharing photos and videos using apps that add filters.

“Again, we say there’s no harm in using these apps. But we urge social media users to pay strict attention to how much of their private information will be used and shared by such apps to avoid any risk,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky.

Fabio Assolini, senior security analyst at Kaspersky, said the application did not contain any malicious elements.

He warned, however, that since facial recognition is a technology used mainly for password authentication, mobile phone users must be very careful when sharing their image with third parties.

“We have to treat these new forms of authentication as passwords, as any widely available facial recognition system can end up being used for both good and bad,” he said.

According to Assolini, companies that own such apps could potentially facilitate or sell these images to entities that use artificial intelligence to make facial recognition modifications.

“In addition, it must be taken into account that this data is stored on third-party servers, and that it can also be stolen by cyber criminals and used to impersonate identities,” he added.

Assolini recommended that before joining the latest social media challenge, users should be aware of the security of the app and download it only from official stores.

He also highlighted the importance of reading the privacy terms of the applications to understand what rights and types of access were being requested, such as login credentials associated with an existing account in a certain social network. – RC, GMA News