????要登記使用該技術，客戶先要致電巴克萊銀行，在通話期間他們要重復一個短語進行樣本錄制。之后客戶還要打第二個電話，以驗證該技術能否正確識別他們。在隨后的通話中，客戶可以將自己的身份識別號碼告訴話務員，然后進行一段簡短的語音驗證。這種技術能夠自動判定電話線另一頭的聲音是否跟樣本匹配。斯摩曼表示，這個驗證過程平均算來要花費40-60秒的時間。到目前為止，該服務運轉良好，在所有聲紋驗證電話中，遇到問題的比例不足1%。

????在巴克萊銀行邀請加入這項聲紋驗證計劃的客戶中，并不是每個人都進行了登記。一些人擔心錄制自己聲音可能帶來隱私問題——的確，很多公司都對客戶服務電話進行了錄音——或者是，他們害怕安全漏洞。斯摩曼稱，巴克萊銀行有5%左右的客戶拒絕加入。在這種情況下，那些客戶可以繼續讓呼叫中心的話務員通過提問驗證身份。

????顧問奧斯汀表示，在使用聲紋驗證技術前首先征得客戶同意，這對公司來說很重要。公司可能在沒有提醒的情況下記錄客戶跟客服代表進行正常通話時的語音，然后在往后的通話中使用它進行比較。奧斯汀說，參與焦點小組訪談的成員告訴她，他們感到被這樣一種計劃出賣了。毫無疑問，隱私權倡導者也會抱怨。

????大衛?波里諾說，聲紋驗證技術有一些潛在的缺點——波里諾是法國巴黎銀行（BNP Paribas）旗下美西銀行（Bank of the West）防欺詐部門的主管。公司賬戶可能無法正常工作，因為這種賬戶通常有數名員工有權登錄，多種多樣的語音可能會讓該技術產生混淆。

????另外，問題還有：如果欺詐行為得逞，誰來負責？銀行嗎？還是客戶？抑或是提供這種技術的公司？

????客戶心理同樣可能是一個問題，波里諾說道，他任職的銀行并未使用聲紋驗證技術。他表示，銀行客戶更喜歡顯而易見的安全技術而非不易察覺的——即使它們的保護作用同樣有效。波里諾說，提問這種方式讓客戶感到銀行是在認真對待安全問題，而將提問換成聲紋驗證，客戶可能開始認為安全系統很松懈。“如果你走進一家銀行，你會希望看到保險庫?！辈ɡ镏Z如是說。

????有決心的黑客能夠攻克聲紋驗證技術，就像其他任何一種安全措施一樣。其帶來的危險是否大于身份盜用、支票失竊或信用卡信息被篡改，這還不清楚。從理論上說，一些人可以欺騙性地登記使用聲紋驗證技術，以進入其他人的銀行賬戶，他們可以提供大量個人信息來通過第一關。他們同樣可以錄制受害者的語音，然后試圖進行回放——盡管銀行可以通過讓客戶重復隨機語句來驗證身份，從而打擊這種做法。就目前而言，傳統保護措施已經千瘡百孔，而聲紋驗證技術才嶄露頭角，以至于黑客們幾乎沒有費心去改變自己的策略。（財富中文網）

????譯者：王燦均

????To enroll, customers make an initial call to Barclay's during which they are recorded while repeating a phrase. A second call is required to verify that the technology recognizes them. In subsequent calls, customers give their I.D. number to an agent and then go through a brief voice verification process. The technology automatically determines whether the voice on the other end of the line is a close enough match. On average, the process takes 40 to 60 seconds, Smallman said. So far, the service has worked well, with less than 1% of all voice print calls experiencing problems.

????Not every customer who is offered the opportunity to enroll in the voice print program at Barclay's does so. Some are concerned about the privacy implications of having their voice recorded -- granted, many businesses already record customer service calls -- or they fear security breaches. Around 5% of the bank's customers have objected, Smallman said. In such cases, clients can continue to have call center representatives questioning them to verify their identity.

????Austin, the consultant, said that it's important for companies using voice print technology to first get customer consent. Companies could, without warning, record their customers' voices during normal conversations with customer service agents and then use that for comparison for future calls. Austin said that members of focus groups have told her that they feel betrayed by such a program. Privacy advocates, no doubt, would also complain.

????David Pollino, who handles fraud prevention for Bank of the West, part of BNP Paribas, said that voice print technology has several potential shortcomings. Business accounts may not work because several employees typically have access. The variety of voices could confuse the technology.

????There's also the question of who's liable if there's fraud. Is it the bank? The customer? Or the company that supplies the technology?

????Consumer psychology may also be a problem, said Pollino, whose bank does not use voice print technology. Bank customers, he said, prefer conspicuous security rather than subtle -- even if their protections are equally effective. Asking questions reassures people that the bank takes security seriously, he said. Replace questions with voice print technology, and customers may start to think that security is lax. "If you walk into a bank, you like to see a vault," Pollino said.

????Determined hackers can overcome voice print technology, like any other security measure. Whether the danger is any greater than identity theft, stolen checks, or tampered credit cards is unclear. In theory, someone could fraudulently enroll for voice print access to someone else's bank account, providing they have a raft of personal information about them to get past the first step. They could also record a victim's voice and try to play it back, although banks can combat that tactic by making customers repeat random phrases to verify their identities. For the moment, traditional protections are so porous and voice print technology so new that hackers have hardly bothered to change their strategies.