Saturday, March 31, 2018

Spoofing the Readers

Via Phil comes word that it's possible to put together a wearable piece of kit that will negate facial recognition. It can possibly make the facial recognition gizmos think you're someone else. The attack on facial recognition is invisible to the naked eye and, if tuned right, can spoof the machines into thinking you're someone else.

Imagine the possibilities. A robber could knock over a joint and the security cameras would think that it was Donald Trump.

What I want to know is if the same thing would work to spoof license plate readers. Because screwing that shit up would be righteous work.

6 comments:

  1. In before declared illegal.

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  2. Given it is using light to modify what the camera/computer “sees”, some form(s) of makeup (and its application) have similar efficacy. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (under NIH) already has a paper out on this which notes that women seen initially with heavy makeup are the most difficult to subsequently recognize. While a picture with no makeup was needed for best facial recognition results, it also showed that a picture with light makeup generally enhanced results. The question is, does this mean that makeup for men is a growing field?

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  3. I do know that you can use IR LEDs to wash out the image, effectively blinding the camera (and bystanders cannot see the IR light so no human knows).

    There are license plate frames that strobe IR LEDs that also effectively blind the cameras. Not hard to make if you want. IIRC there was a lawsuit that took the commercial ones off the market, but they aren't hard to recreate with about $25 in parts.

    Somehow I doubt this would work to change your Visage for the cameras.

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  4. CenterPuke and B, combined your comments lead to an interesting idea. I suspect that light makeup enhances recognition because it exaggerates the natural light/dark areas of the face. Just like camo makeup works by reversing them (dark cheeks, light around the eyes). Many pigments reflect very differently in IR than they do in the visual range. I wonder if one could come up with a makeup set that looks normal to other humans but completely camouflaged under IR lights, such as those used by "night vision" security cameras...

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  5. bmq, exactly what I would guess a number of groups are working on. I also wonder what the result of blocking a portion of the reflective background of a license plate would be. Could it convince a computer that the 3 is an 8 or the E is an 8? Could that result be achieved without a noticeable visual impact?

    On B’s matter, there are high output IR LED’s now. Perhaps you could use the license plate light wiring and locations to hook in a couple of those suckers to wash over the plate. There are also glasses available with near-ir LED’s that can defeat facial recognition attempts when lit.

    The most fun solution is a shirt line that has famous peoples faces on it, so when Facebook tags you, it tags you with Obama, Jagger and Spears, for instance. I didn’t look over the list, so I don’t know if a Trump, Hagar and Ryan shirt is available.

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  6. CP: That is exactly what the plate frames did. They aren't hard to make, really. I made mine using a 555 timer (I'm old) and some LEDS...hardest part was drilling the holes and gluing the LEDS. It will, however, attract the attention of cops that use dashcams that they can see in the cop car.

    I have a version that works as a necklace, but it doesn't last long, as it eats the coin cell batteries. It is unobtrusive on a woman as jewelery.

    I'm making one that uses those lamps that clip onto a ball cap. High output IR LEDs strobed rapidly don't burn up batteries too quickly.

    I like the idea of IR makeup/masks though.

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