Check Point Research (CPR) has highlighted some potential risks of using an avatar app.
A preliminary security analysis on Voila app, the popular app that turns a person into a cartoon avatar, doesn’t raise any obvious red flags at this time, but CPR points out there are risks that should be considered at a time when identity theft is on the rise.
In South Africa, consumers have been warned to protect their personal information now more than ever after new statistics released by the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) show a sharp increase in identity fraud over the past year.
According to the SAFPS report on 2020 fraud statistics, impersonation fraud was up by 337% over 2019’s figures.
CPR warns that there is a risk in that the Voila app sends face pictures to its servers for processing. Face pictures, along with user identification details, could end up in malicious hands, in the event that the company suffers a cyber-attack.
In addition, the app includes specific and unique installation identification (vdid) generated by Google Play when it sends photos for verification; and the photos are linked to specific user installation details.
Check Point Research (CPR) has run a preliminary security scan on Viola app, and presents some initial notes:
* The app has been written by a legitimate LLP company registered in the UK;
* In terms of permissions, the app utilises only the bare minimum required for operation;
* The app verifies that the images contain face(s), and only after that verification, the app sends them to the server for processing;
* All communication with the server are performed using HTTPS, so the traffic is encrypted out-of-the-box;
* The app is using well known open source libraries, where possible; and
* When the photo is sent to the server, the app includes the specific and unique installation id (vdid) that was generated by Google Play, potentially linking faces to the specific installation.
Yaniv Balmas, head of cyber research at Check Point Software, says: “Most users likely assume that the processing of Voila app is done locally on their phone. This is not the case. A non-obvious fact here is that the company sends face pictures to its servers for processing.
“When a face photo is sent to the company’s server, the app includes unique installation IDs that were generated by Google Play. So each photo is packaged up with user identification details.
“While this fact is mentioned in the company’s privacy policy, the possibility for misuse of the data opens up – either by the company itself or by a third party. For example, if the company is hacked, the attackers could potentially gather a large data base of all faces of application users.
“We have no way of telling if the company is doing anything illegal or malicious, but I do think it’s important for new users to be aware of the inherent risks in sending content to servers for processing. The risk being pictures of your or your loved ones face in malicious hands, in the event of a data breach or cyber-attack.”