You have the feeling that the famous CAPTCHA puzzlesbecome more and more twisted, and that it sometimes becomes difficult to go through this step to access content? This is normal, because this method of keeping robots away is becoming more complex.
CAPTCHAs were created in the early 2000s. Their objective is simple: they are used to prevent robots from pretending to be humans. These tests initially relied on typing words with distorted letters, a simple task for a human (albeit), but very difficult for a computer program.
Obviously, this only lasted a short while and the robots, most often programmed by pirates, became more sophisticated. For several years, we have been solving these CAPTCHAs by locating traffic lights, buses or pedestrian crossings. Once again, bots have evolved, CAPTCHAs sometimes become very strange.
CAPTCHAs become even more complex
Fighting bots and viruses and other malware is a constant battle. Cybercriminals are often one step ahead, and cybersecurity engineers are constantly working to anticipate and properly protect data. But if you have the impression that the task is becoming more difficult, rest assured, you are not losing your mind. CAPTCHAs, these small images on which we must correctly click to prove that we are human, are indeed becoming more complex.
“ Choose two objects of the same shape »“ click on an item incapable of living underwater ” or ” match the number of pebbles to a number » are all new ways to deter robots. It is no longer enough to recognize an element, it is necessary to associate it with another idea, analyze it and compare it. A task that robots struggle enormously to do. The introduction of images generated by AI makes the robots’ task even more difficult, but no one is fooled: we are only playing for time, and some big names in tech have finally done without it.
A standoff that will continue
In the future, methods of securing identification will continue to evolve, caught in the endless struggle between hackers and web actors. “ Things are going to get even stranger », Indicates Kevin Gosschalk, CEO of Arkose Labs, speaking to the Wall Street Journal. The boss of the company specializing in the design of anti-fraud software indicates that new ideas will continue to be introduced. The objective is not to completely block the robots, because they will eventually find the solution.
The idea is above all to make the resolution of CAPTCHAs too long and too expensive for their resolution to be worth it. In the same way that a complex password only slows down a hacker, complex CAPTCHAs directly affect the profitability of cybercriminal acts. However, not everyone adapts to these new puzzles in the same way.
Some don’t like their new complexity, others are happy to see change, as independent journalist Scott Nover puts it: ” I have such a history of frustration with classic CAPTCHAs that I’m happy to see something new. I prefer that to recognizing blurry traffic lights “. You will have understood, you are not going crazy, the famous CAPTCHAs are indeed changing.
Source : Wall Street Journal
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