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What Is Voice Authentication?
Voice authentication is a type of biometric security authentication that relies on a person’s unique voice patterns to verify their identity – often to gain access to a secure system, service, or device. For example, banks use voice authentication for telephone banking services. Clients record a voice sample stored and used to authenticate their identity in future calls.
This type of authentication requires a device to capture a person’s voice accurately and voice authentication software to recognize the unique characteristics of the voice and compare it to already-recognized patterns.
Voice authentication is also known as voice biometrics, voice ID, or speaker recognition. However, it should not be confused with speech recognition, which is about recognizing what is said rather than who is saying it.
Key Takeaways
- Voice authentication uses a person’s unique voice patterns for identification and access.
- A voice is difficult to spoof in terms of biometric comparison purposes.
- Voice authentication software employs liveness detection to identify synthetic voices.
- Advanced AI voice generators have been shown to fool voice authentication systems.
- Combining voice authentication with passwords or PINs improves security.
How Voice Authentication Works
Voice authentication relies on a person’s unique voice biometric, which is the digital representation of the unique sound, rhythm and pattern of a person’s voice. This includes dialect, speaking style, pitch, format frequencies, and spectral magnitudes. A voiceprint is as unique as fingerprints or iris patterns.
A person’s voiceprint is difficult to forge. Even if a voice impersonation sounds very similar to the human ear, detailed analysis of the voice print done by a computer shows vast differences from the sample.
How voice authentication works, step by step:
Capture voice sample
The system records the user’s speech through a set phrase (active authentication) or natural speech (passive authentication).Send voice sample to the biometric engine
The recorded voice sample is transmitted to a biometric authentication system for analysis.Create a voice template
The system extracts unique voice characteristics, such as pitch, tone, and speech patterns, to generate a digital voice template.Create and store a voiceprint
A biometric voiceprint is stored securely and used for future authentication.Verify and grant access
When the user attempts to authenticate, the new voice sample is matched against the stored voiceprint. If the voice sample matches the stored voiceprint, access is granted.
Active vs. Passive Voice Authentication
There are two primary types of voice authentication: active and passive:
Active voice authentication
- The user must say a specific phrase to verify their identity
- Generally considered more secure
- Often used in high-security applications
- Users must remember their authentication phrase
Passive voice authentication
- The system analyzes the user’s voice during natural speech
- Can be vulnerable to background noise or recordings
- Common in customer service and call centers
- No specific phrase needed; works on any speech
Who Uses Voice Authentication
Voice biometric authentication is used by organizations to verify users’ identities, often remotely via phone.
Common applications include:
- Access restricted areas
- Access secure accounts
- Control access to sensitive data
- Fraud prevention
- Personalize smart home devices
Voice Authentication Uses
Voice Authentication Security
One of the biggest threats to voice authentication security is deepfake voice. Using machine learning-enabled deepfake software, these advanced artificial intelligence (AI) voice generators have been shown to fool voice authentication systems with a high success rate.
To mitigate risks, voice authentication software employs liveness detection to better identify synthetic voices and sophisticated algorithms to detect subtle vocal variations. It is recommended that organizations use multi-factor authentication (MFA). For example, combining voice authentication with passwords or PINs to improve security.
Voice Authentication Pros & Cons
Cons
- Background noise can impact authentication
- May not be as reliable as other biometric security (e.g., face, iris)
- Voice changes can prevent authentication
- Advanced voice deepfakes can pose a potential threat
The Bottom Line
The definition of voice authentication refers to a biometric security method that verifies a person’s identity using their unique voice patterns. It is widely used in banking, call centers, and smart home devices for security and convenience.
While voiceprints are difficult to spoof, the rise of AI-generated deepfake voices poses a security risk. To strengthen security, organizations often combine voice authentication with other verification methods, such as passwords or PINs. Keep in mind that factors like background noise, voice changes, and spoofing attempts can impact its accuracy.
