Why in the News?

This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

What is CAPTCHA?

CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.
It is a security measure used to differentiate humans from automated bots on websites.
It helps protect websites against spam and misuse by ensuring that the user performing actions is a human.
It was developed in the early 2000s by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper, and John Langford as a response to the proliferation of automated bots on the internet that created fake accounts, spammed websites, and stole data.
The first patent for CAPTCHA was filed in 2003.

CAPTCHA presents tasks that are easy for humans to solve but hard for machines.
These tasks typically involve recognizing distorted text, images, or sounds that machines cannot interpret as reliably as humans.
It operates on the principle of the Turing test, designed by British mathematician Alan Turing in the 1950s.
- This assesses a machine’s ability to exhibit human-like behaviour.
Over the years, CAPTCHA has evolved from simple text recognition to more complex tests:

Image Recognition CAPTCHA: Users are asked to identify specific objects within images, such as cars, traffic lights, or storefronts.
reCAPTCHA: Launched by Google in 2009, this system not only serves as a CAPTCHA but also helps digitize text from scanned documents. Users transcribe words that OCR software has been unable to recognize.
Invisible reCAPTCHA: Introduced by Google in 2014, this version analyzes the user’s interaction with the website, such as mouse movements, to determine if they are human without needing them to complete a specific challenge.

Accessibility Issues: CAPTCHA can be challenging for people with disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments.
User Inconvenience: The need to solve CAPTCHAs can be cumbersome, particularly on mobile devices, and may detract from user experience.
Advancing Bot Technology: As bots become more sophisticated with AI, they are increasingly capable of bypassing CAPTCHA systems, necessitating more complex solutions.

[UPSC 2019] Consider the following statements: A digital signature is

1. an electronic record that identifies the certifying authority issuing it

2. used to serve as a proof of identity of an individual to access information or server on Internet.

3. an electronic method of signing an electronic document and ensuring that the original content is unchanged

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3