From Photo Search to Face Recognition: Innovations and Neural Networks

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In the era of digital progress and the development of artificial intelligence, photo search technologies and facial recognition systems are becoming increasingly popular and widely used. In this article, we will tell you how these technologies are used in modern life, how legal and ethical their use is.

Search by photo​

Photo search technology allows you to find an image based on its content, not just keywords or descriptions. Today, neural networks are often used to identify and compare images. They are trained to classify and recognize features and patterns in images. They can analyze images for shapes, colors, textures, and other characteristics.

Another method is to use image descriptors. Descriptors are compact numerical vectors that describe the special points and characteristics of an image. When searching by photo, the algorithm can compare the descriptors of the query image with the descriptors of all available images to find the most similar ones.

Photo search technology is used in various fields. In online stores, it allows users to find products based on photos or search for similar items. For example, a user can take a photo of clothes or accessories they like and find similar products in the store. In search engines, this technology helps users find information based on images. For example, if a user is looking for places to relax, they can upload a photo of the landscape or landmark they are interested in.

But searching for a person by photo has a downside - this technology is used by criminals for their own criminal purposes.

Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
Chief specialist of the integrated information security systems department of Gazinformservice.

Searching for people by photo is OSINT, that is, searching through open sources, for example, social networks or open databases, Google cache. This technology can be used to obtain illegal data and commit fraudulent transactions. For example, specially trained AI allows you to create fake photos of a person with fake documents. With the help of such tricks, you can deceive some applications when applying for loans.

Photos of real people can also be used to collect information and prepare a targeted attack. In addition, in the near future, it will be possible to carry out attacks with the purpose of making a payment using a face. Modern 3D technologies allow you to create high-quality masks based on three-dimensional models created from a photo, and OSINT allows you to find out a lot of personal information about a potential victim.

Ordinary users, often without even thinking, use this technology in everyday life. For example, to check a girl who wrote on social networks using Yandex.Images or Google Image and make sure that the appearance really belongs to her, and not to a Latin American model.

Face recognition​

The principles of facial recognition systems are based on the analysis of geometric and textural features of a person’s face. They allow identifying and authenticating a specific person based on their unique physical features. One of the most popular methods of facial recognition is the deep learning method used in neural networks. This technique helps to model and identify factors of the eye, nose, mouth, and other parts of the face that distinguish one person from another.

The security benefits of facial recognition systems are obvious. Such systems allow for the automation of the process of identifying and authenticating people without the need for physical access cards or passwords. This increases the level of security, as it is much more difficult to forge a face than to steal an access code or card.

Facial recognition systems are used in many areas such as security, marketing, medicine, etc. For example, facial recognition systems can be used to control access in businesses or public places, to keep track of attendance, or to determine a person’s emotional state.

Ekaterina Starostina.
Director of Business Development, Webmonitorex.

Facial recognition and photo person search technologies play an important role in ensuring cybersecurity. They can be used to authenticate users, control access to information resources, identify potential threats and prevent unauthorized access. For example, biometric identification systems based on facial recognition can be used to protect confidential data and ensure the security of information systems.

But the facial recognition system also has its drawbacks. For example, there is a high probability of incorrectly recognizing a person from a photo. Especially in low light or when a person's appearance changes (for example, a change in hairstyle). In such situations, false positives are possible, which can lead to errors and security breaches.

Overall, facial recognition systems are important for security, but require constant improvement to ensure maximum efficiency and reliability.

Prospects for facial search and recognition technologies​

Photo search and facial recognition technologies are most important and useful for law enforcement. One of the main applications of photo search technologies is the ability to quickly find and identify criminals based on available photos in a database. This can be useful, for example, when investigating thefts, assaults, or other crimes where law enforcement has photos of suspects. An automated facial recognition system can compare a photo to many others in the database, which will greatly speed up the identification of a suspect, even if he has changed his appearance.

In addition, these technologies are used to ensure security in public places - airports, transport hubs, shopping malls, stadiums. They can be integrated into video surveillance systems and used for automatic facial recognition of suspicious individuals or those on wanted lists. Such systems can also be configured to recognize atypical behavior of people. For example, if a person is very nervous or clearly aggressive. Such use of technologies helps to increase security, prevent possible crimes or clashes of public masses, for example, football fans.

Leonid Lomakin.
Head of Information Security at iTPROTECT.

At the moment, the use of services and neural networks for searching for a person by photo is not yet clearly and fully regulated in Russian legislation. Artificial intelligence technologies are developing very quickly, and legislation often lags behind such innovations.

However, despite the lack of specific laws on the use of neural networks in Russia, the use of these technologies for recognizing people in photographs falls under the definition of biometric personal data - information that characterizes the physiological and biological characteristics of a person, based on which his or her identity can be established. The processing of such data for identification can only be carried out with written consent or in the presence of requirements of Russian legislation on security, counter-terrorism, operational-search activities, etc.

Therefore, as a rule, such applications and services can violate the rights to confidentiality and privacy of users, since a person can be found and identified without his or her explicit consent. With the development of artificial intelligence, the problem of confidentiality and privacy is becoming increasingly relevant. Therefore, a key challenge is to establish clear rules for the use of such technologies to ensure that their confidentiality and privacy are respected.

Another vector of development of such technologies is financial transactions. They allow customers to pay for goods or services literally with their face - look at a special device at the checkout and the payment goes through. To use the service, just activate the face recognition function in your bank's application and select the linked card. In Moscow, the FacePay system has been implemented since 2021, allowing you to "pay with your face" for travel on the metro using the same principle.

An equally promising area is recognizing fake photos or videos. Neural networks analyze photos/videos and find hidden details, anomalies, or errors. This is a very relevant area, especially now that deepfakes and services for creating fake documents are reaching a new level thanks to artificial intelligence. Perhaps in the coming years, we will see a bright confrontation between neural networks.

Conclusion​

Photo search technologies and facial recognition systems have enormous potential and are used in many areas of our lives. They make it more convenient, easier and safer. But we must understand that such technologies are just a tool. And the end result depends on whose hands it is in - a benefit to society or a crime.

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