AI bots can now solve Captchas with 100% accuracy
AI bots have now come such a long way that they can ace Google's reCAPTCHA v2 image recognition challenges. This breakthrough comes from a bunch of researchers at ETH Zurich, who whipped up a machine learning (ML) program that nails these tests with perfect accuracy. Their study showed that these AI bots could actually outpace humans in both speed and precision, when it comes to tackling different CAPTCHA styles.
How did they achieve this?
The Zurich team's method is a step up from earlier ML models, making them way more successful. While some open-source projects and previous studies had mixed results with the You Only Look Once (YOLO) models, this latest technique scored a perfect 100%. At first, these models were great at spotting things like traffic lights or cars, but they struggled with security measures that look for other signs of human activity.
Overcoming security measures
To get that perfect score, the researchers had to modify YOLOv8 with some extra software that mimics mouse movements and simulates browser history. They also threw in a VPN that keeps changing IP addresses, so the tests wouldn't think multiple login attempts were coming from the same spot. This whole experiment shows that with ML and generative AI on rise, Captcha technology might be in a bit of a pickle. Now, combinations of easily available software can outsmart these tests.
What does this mean for internet security?
The fact that YOLOv8 can work on some pretty basic hardware is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it opens doors for emerging tech, but on the flip side, it raises concerns about potential large-scale automated attacks using a swarm of cheap devices. This has tech giants racing against time to come up with new strategies to ward off bots and keep our internet traffic safe.
