WBUR: Is your driver’s license on the dark web?

“BUTLER: I agree. I think that the breach of the images and like forensic-level detail of identity documents is a fundamentally different thing than most of the breaches that most of us hear about every day.”

“BUTLER: I think there’s major risk of new account fraud, and if you think about combining this data with AI tools, as James mentioned you can synthesize already synthesized voice, synthesized images, or even potentially video, even if there was some form of live verification to go along with the license.”

“And I think that another set of risks that goes beyond identity theft is the identification risks to vulnerable communities. The posting of these pictures and licenses puts so many different folks at risk. Think about survivors of domestic abuse who are trying to escape abusive partners or people in witness protection who have had to adopt new identities, but now you have their face images posted with these identity documents.”

Listen to the full episode here.