World launches biometric checks on Zoom to tackle AI deepfakes

Sam Altman-backed World has launched its biometric identity verification service for Zoom enterprise customers worldwide, allowing meeting participants to display a badge confirming they are real people.

According to an Oct. 18 report by Fortune, the World ID for Zoom integration is now available through the Zoom Marketplace following a limited beta that began in April with VanEck Funds.

The system uses biometric information collected through World’s iris-scanning Orb device, a live selfie and the participant’s video feed to confirm that the person attending a meeting matches the verified individual.

Once authentication is completed, a Human Badge appears on the participant’s video tile, allowing other people in the meeting to see their verification status.

World said the service is intended for sensitive business conversations where companies need to verify that participants are not using AI-generated identities or manipulated video feeds.

“World ID for Zoom is designed to protect sensitive, high-stakes conversations by proving that a real and unique human is present,” the company said in a statement cited by Fortune.

The launch is part of a new identity verification offering for financial institutions, with Bain Capital, Pantera Capital and other firms participating in the project’s enterprise expansion.

World ID for Zoom uses three checks to verify participants

Under the verification process, employees must first register with World ID using the company’s Orb device, which captures images of their eyes and face to establish that they are unique individuals.

World’senterprise setup documentation explains that authentication involves a three-way cryptographic comparison between the Orb verification, a live selfie and the image captured during the Zoom meeting.

All three checks must match before the participant receives a Human Badge.

Employees can complete their initial Orb verification at supported locations or through devices installed at their workplaces. Once verified, they connect their World ID account to their enterprise Zoom account.

During a meeting, the application prompts the participant to confirm their identity through the World ID mobile app. A successful match activates the badge, which remains visible to other attendees.

World’s technical documentation states that the biometric comparison takes place on the participant’s phone. According to the company, biometric information is not shared directly with Zoom, which receives verification-related information instead.

The company maintains that its system uses cryptographic technology to confirm a person’s identity without requiring their underlying biometric information to be disclosed to other meeting participants.

Enterprise administrators can decide how frequently employees must renew their verification. The default authentication period is 24 hours, although organizations can choose intervals of 7, 15 or 30 days.

A participant whose verification expires must complete another live selfie check before the badge becomes active again.

Theenterprise support guide confirms that the integration currently works with Zoom’s desktop application on Windows and macOS and requires an enterprise account.

Users need the World ID mobile application and an Orb-verified identity to complete the process. Each World ID can be linked to only one Zoom account at a time.

Meeting participants can view the badge without installing the World application themselves, although accessing the full authentication certificate requires the integration.

Financial firms join World’s identity verification rollout

World has introduced a dedicated identity verification package for financial companies alongside the Zoom integration.

The offering combines its existing identity application, video verification technology and tools for connecting AI agents to verified human users.

According to The Block, the company named Bain Capital, VanEck Funds, OpenExchange and Outtake among its design partners for the financial services offering. However, the announcement did not identify a bank that had already deployed the complete package.

Financial firms participating in the rollout can install Orb devices at their offices, allowing employees to complete biometric registration without visiting public verification locations.

The system provides different verification levels depending on the requirements of an organization.

World offers document-based identity checks, live presence verification and its highest verification level, Proof of Human, which uses the Orb registration process.

World’s Chief Product Officer Tiago Sada told Fortune that the company’s technology relies on open-source software and cryptographic methods intended to protect personal information.

The company has maintained that its identity verification system does not require a centralized database containing users’ readable biometric records.

World’s enterprise push follows a $52.5 million WLD token sale announced in July, which crypto.news previously reported was intended to support the expansion of its identity network.

Pantera Capital led the financing, while Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital and Susquehanna Crypto participated.

The foundation said the purchased tokens would remain locked for one year and that the financing would support identity verification services for enterprises, consumers and AI agents.

At the time, World Foundation reported that more than 39 million people had joined its network, with over 18 million completing Orb verification.

The organization said its identity protocol had processed more than 475 million verification proofs since launch, while World ID integrations included Zoom, DocuSign, Okta, Vercel and Tinder.

World had previously expanded its AgentKit framework, allowing AI agents to use credentials linked to verified human users when interacting with supported applications.

The framework was designed to help online services distinguish automated activity authorized by real users from activity generated by unidentified bots.

Deepfake Zoom attacks have targeted crypto companies

The commercial rollout follows several incidents in which attackers used manipulated video calls to impersonate company executives and cryptocurrency industry professionals.

In 2024, an employee at British engineering company Arup transferred approximately $25 million after scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate senior company officials during a video conference.

The employee reportedly believed the people appearing in the meeting were genuine colleagues and subsequently authorized transfers to accounts controlled by the attackers.

Similar tactics have been documented in attacks against cryptocurrency businesses.

In January 2026, North Korean hackers used AI-generated video calls and compromised Telegram accounts to impersonate trusted contacts and persuade cryptocurrency professionals to install malicious software.

The campaign involved attackers arranging meetings with potential victims before introducing fake technical problems that required users to download supposed software updates.

Security researchers linked the malicious files to tools capable of stealing sensitive information and compromising cryptocurrency wallets.

A separate investigation published in July found that the North Korea-linked BlueNoroff hacking group had been using fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings to identify cryptocurrency users and deliver malware.

Cybersecurity firm JUMPSEC recovered source code from the phishing infrastructure and found that attackers could scan cryptocurrency wallets before deciding which victims should receive malicious payloads.

The tools supported both Windows and macOS systems and could collect browser information, cryptocurrency wallet data and Telegram sessions.

According to the investigation, attackers frequently began by compromising a Telegram account belonging to someone the victim already trusted.

The stolen account was then used to arrange a meeting through a fraudulent video conferencing website designed to resemble a legitimate service.

Security researchers documented another variation in which victims were asked to install fake meeting updates that contained remote-access malware.

World’s verification feature is specifically designed to authenticate participants in supported Zoom meetings. The company’s documentation does not establish that the integration can prevent malware delivered through fake meeting websites, compromised messaging accounts or malicious downloads.

World’s biometric verification faces privacy scrutiny

World’s use of iris scans has attracted scrutiny from data protection authorities in several countries.

Regulators in Spain, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines have investigated or restricted aspects of the project’s biometric verification operations over concerns involving personal data, consent and privacy.

World has said its verification system uses cryptographic protections intended to keep sensitive biometric information under users’ control.

The project has continued expanding its identity network while developing additional verification services for businesses and online platforms.

In July, World Foundation introduced World ID 4.0, which supports enterprise identity credentials using zero-knowledge proofs.

The technology allows supported applications to check certain verified attributes without receiving all the personal information associated with an individual’s identity.

World’s enterprise documentation states that organizations can monitor employee verification status and manage authentication requirements through an administrative portal.

Administrators can view whether an employee holds an active Human Badge and when the authentication period expires.

The system does not provide administrators with a complete history of past authentications through that status view.

According to World, employees who disconnect their Zoom accounts from World ID lose their active verification badges, and the associated account-linking records are deleted.

The company’s support documentation states that removing the Zoom Marketplace application alone does not automatically delete the connection between a user’s Zoom account and World ID. Users must disconnect the accounts through the World ID application to remove the link.