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4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

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Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#191

Post by Zetaphor »

Oravys wrote: post #2

Author here. Wrote this after watching Lapsus$ post the Mercor archive on their leak site earlier this month. The thing that struck me is the combination: voice samples paired with ID document scans. Most breaches leak one or the other. This one ships a deepfake-ready kit. Tried to keep the writeup practical: what an attacker can actually do with this combo (banking voiceprint bypass, Arup-style video calls, insuranc…

> Self-audit your public audio footprint. Search YouTube, podcast directories, and old Zoom recording

This is suggestion #1 on your list of remediation steps for victims, but you didn't provide any information on how anyone would actually do that. How exactly would I search the internet for copies of my voice?

Please don't tell me the solution is giving an embedding of my voice to another third party.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#193

Post by hkt »

inetknght wrote: post #100
saadn92 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony runs deeper than the free analysis offer. The whole Mercor contractor relationship was this exact pattern: hand over studio-quality voice recordings and ID scans to get paid for data labeling work that didn't require either. "Explicit consent" was buried in the terms, and people clicked through because they needed the paycheck. Now 40k people have learned that biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate y…

> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.

Smoke 40 cigarettes a day, your voice will be unrecognisable in no time

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#194

Post by Mistletoe »

nikkaelle wrote: post #150
inetknght wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.

Vocal lessons are both a lot of fun and a lot of work. I haven't been using any voiceprint systems but I know most humans are unable to tell that my trained voice is the same physical person as my old voice. Would be curious to find out if an AI voiceprint system can discern whether it's the same or not.

I always answer my likely spam calls in a weird high pitched fake voice just in case.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#195

Post by nikkaelle »

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS wrote: post #183
nikkaelle wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm referring to speaking, not singing. After a _lot_ of work, I can speak passably as a woman or man and switch freely between the two. Depending on context I generally choose just one for the entire conversation, as switching tends to cause whiplash in the listener (^_^).

I'm curious as to what prompted you to pursue this ability.

I'm trans.

The ability to switch mid-sentence is mostly just something I discovered I can do and is fun. But the ability to pass as my real gender is something that helps me feel safe. And when needed, being able to occasionally pass as my prior gender (e.g., when calling my bank until I can change my name/gender legally), it also quite useful.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#196

Post by numpad0 »

nikkaelle wrote: post #157
wholinator2 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you talking about singing lessons, or actual talking training? Singing lessons helped me sing but didn't change the way i talked at all, but i was only able to afford them for a summer so maybe it takes more time than that

I'm referring to speaking, not singing. After a _lot_ of work, I can speak passably as a woman or man and switch freely between the two. Depending on context I generally choose just one for the entire conversation, as switching tends to cause whiplash in the listener (^_^).

Does the f0 change? Or is it like power distribution of harmonics change? Or is it something else?

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#197

Post by coldtea »

9991 wrote: post #140
throwaway67743 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite popular belief, even heavy smoking does not alter your voice in a significant way.

Source: it came to me in a dream.

There's this myth (that came to you in pop culture) that you end up sounding like Tom Waits.

In reality, some phlegm aside, their voice is still the same in any way that matters.

If you knew people who didn't smoke and started (not uncommon in the 80s and 90s, quite a few people I know started smoking in university, or after the stress of a first job, some even later), and also the inverse, you can trivially hear it for yourself.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#198

Post by anilakar »

inetknght wrote: post #100
saadn92 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony runs deeper than the free analysis offer. The whole Mercor contractor relationship was this exact pattern: hand over studio-quality voice recordings and ID scans to get paid for data labeling work that didn't require either. "Explicit consent" was buried in the terms, and people clicked through because they needed the paycheck. Now 40k people have learned that biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate y…

> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.

Biometrics are "what you are", not "what you know" or "what you have".

Voice fingeprinting is essentially useless because it is easily recorded and reproduced.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#199

Post by Sander_Marechal »

anilakar wrote: post #198
inetknght wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.

Biometrics are "what you are", not "what you know" or "what you have". Voice fingeprinting is essentially useless because it is easily recorded and reproduced.

I have been telling people for years that biometrics (face, fingerprint, voice) is your username, not your password. But people are easily swayed by convenience.

Re: 4TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor

#200

Post by bonesss »

hkt wrote: post #193
inetknght wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.

Smoke 40 cigarettes a day, your voice will be unrecognisable in no time

Also: it’s not just the first order smoking, respiratory issues, increased chance of illness, and chronic coughing can damage your voices presentation.
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