Image: Luis Alvarez
Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard's podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.
Advertisement
Advertisement
ElevenLabs has already been tied to multiple cases of real world abuse. Members of 4chan used the service to make synthetic versions of celebrities' voices, including one that sounded like Emma Watson which the users made read Mein Kampf. A group of trolls then doxed specific voice actors and used synthetic voices as part of the harassment campaign (the attackers claimed ElevenLabs’ tool was used, but ElevenLabs told Motherboard at the time that only one clip, which did not include the targets’ addresses, was made with its software).Motherboard tested the cloned voice on the authentication system of Lloyds Bank in the UK. Many banks in the U.S. use similar systems, such as TD Bank’s “VoicePrint” and Chase’s “Voice ID.” At the time, TD Bank, Chase, and Wells Fargo did not respond to a request for comment. In September, lawyers filed suit against a group of U.S. financial institutions because they believe biometric voice prints used to identify callers violates California law.In his letter to the banks, Brown asks each to describe their use of voice authentication services, including whether they are using third-party provided tools; how frequently customers use voice authentication; how the banks respond to breaches due to flaws in voice authentication; and where customer voice data is stored. Brown gave the banks until May 18 to respond.As for the broader threat AI voice cloning poses to the public, Brown adds “Worryingly, the prevalence of video clips publicly available on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have made it easier than ever for bad actors to replicate the voices of other people.”Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER. Subscribe to our Twitch channel.Do you know anything else about bank voice ID, or how AI voices are being abused? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.