'Protect children from voice cloning menace'

HYDERABAD: Voice cloning is nothing but a sophisticated form of deepfake that can digitally replicate human voices from brief audio samples. This, experts say, is increasingly becoming a tool for cybercriminals who, in many cases, are seen cloning voices of children to manipulate parents into sharing sensitive information or transferring money. While this technology offers legitimate benefits in fields like healthcare and entertainment, its potential for misuse has raised an alarm.Major Vineet Kumar, founder and global CEO of CyberPeace Foundation explains that cloned voices can also be employed in phishing attempts. They can be used to deceive children into revealing passwords or providing access to digital accounts. "Additionally, cybercriminals can exploit cloned voices of family members to manipulate children. They may create distressing scenarios to gain their trust," he says.There is also the fear of fraudsters misusing fake voice recordings to harass or humiliate children online, engage in cyberbullying and causing kids psychological distress.To safeguard against its misuse, experts advise people and organisations to implement - public awareness campaigns and education, public-private collaboration, biometric security with liveness detection, enhanced investigative capability against voice cloning, and accurate and updated regulations.Vineet Kumar also emphasises the need for parents to first educate themselves about the risks and then make their children aware of such scenarios. He also stressed the need for social media platforms to implement stronger safeguards to protect users against data misuse.