Mitigating presentation attacks in remote identity proofing (MIMER): Pakistan in Focus

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The shift towards digital channels for financial transactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in fraudulent financial transactions in low-middle-income countries like Pakistan due to weak remote identity proofing (RIDP) processes. The existing methods of verifying a person's identity through electronic means, such as facial recognition, can be easily deceived by advancements in artificial intelligence, such as deep fakes. These deep fakes are much more successful in bypassing the verification process than traditional methods. As a result, there is a lack of trust among users, particularly in countries like Pakistan, where cash is still widely used, in adopting mobile technologies for accessing banking services. This hinders the government's efforts to increase financial and digital inclusion for millions of underbanked individuals.The goal of the MIMER project is to develop a robust authentication method that can protect remote identity verification systems from emerging identity spoofing attacks. The objective is to create a mechanism that is specifically tailored to the conditions in Pakistan by creating detection models that are adapted to local language and other specific characteristics. The project will also focus on developing a framework for detecting audio and visual forgeries, making it resistant to anti-forensics and multi-spoofing attacks, and well-suited for real-world scenarios. The project is aligned with various sustainable development goals and addresses the needs of the partner country, particularly by developing a secure and reliable remote identity verification system. This will lead to the creation of robust digital and financial services and decrease the risk of identity theft crimes.The research will be carried out through a seamless collaboration between The University of Glasgow, the University of Engineering and Technology Taxila, Pakistan, and an industrial partner, stech.ai. The focus of the project is to establish sustainable partnerships, network with policymakers within the UK and Pakistan, and co-create knowledge to address the challenges related to developing a secure and reliable remote identity verification system while working towards a common strategic theme of "building a secure and resilient world."