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

COVID-19疫情导致金融交易转向数字渠道，导致巴基斯坦等中低收入国家的欺诈性金融交易增加，原因是远程身份验证（RIDP）流程薄弱。现有的通过电子手段验证个人身份的方法，如面部识别，很容易被人工智能的进步所欺骗，如深度伪造。这些深度伪造比传统方法更成功地绕过了验证过程。因此，在采用移动的技术获取银行服务方面，用户之间缺乏信任，特别是在像巴基斯坦这样仍然广泛使用现金的国家。MIMER项目的目标是开发一种强大的身份验证方法，可以保护远程身份验证系统免受新出现的身份欺骗攻击。目的是通过建立适合当地语言和其他具体特点的侦查模式，建立一个专门适合巴基斯坦国情的机制。该项目还将专注于开发一个用于检测音频和视觉伪造的框架，使其能够抵抗反取证和多重欺骗攻击，并且非常适合现实世界的场景。该项目符合各种可持续发展目标，并满足伙伴国家的需要，特别是通过开发安全可靠的远程身份验证系统。这项研究将通过格拉斯哥大学、巴基斯坦塔克西拉工程技术大学和工业合作伙伴stech.ai之间的无缝合作进行。该项目的重点是建立可持续的伙伴关系，与英国和巴基斯坦的政策制定者建立网络，并共同创造知识，以应对与开发安全可靠的远程身份验证系统有关的挑战，同时努力实现“建立一个安全和有弹性的世界”的共同战略主题。"

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."