A 12-week challenge has been launched by HMGCC Co-Creation, looking for ways to add bespoke watermarks to physical documents. The ability to do this without needing large-scale manufacturing runs could prove an important tool in national security, to combat forgery. Organisations are being invited to apply for this funded challenge to develop new processes and manufacturing concepts, enabling small-scale, agile production runs of security watermarked documents. The goal is to create a flexible and responsive system that can quickly adapt to new security requirements.

Tools to geolocate and detect deepfakes in photos are the focus of the latest HMGCC Co-Creation challenge now open for applications. Organisations are being invited to apply for a 12-week challenge aimed at researching potential tools and their effectiveness. Photo analysis is important to national security for example in a hostage situation, when images are scrutinised for clues to proof of life and location. Continuing developments in doctored photos and deepfakes have made this more challenging. This project will be centred around two workstreams: 1: Test commercial photo geolocation tools, explaining how they work. The bulk of the work is expected in this workstream. 2: Conduct deepfake red/blue team testing. Organisations are encouraged to collaborate and form consortia for these workstreams, particularly for red/blue team testing. Increased funding is available for these collaborations.

The most realistic face disguises possible are needed by national security to help anonymise faces during exercises in which AI surveillance models are being tested and trained. This makes it possible for any data gathered during exercises to be shared more widely. HMGCC Co-Creation is inviting organisations to take on the 12-week challenge and develop prosthetic face mask prototypes, using skin like materials which could outdo traditional silicone. Applicants from those working in engineering biology, healthcare, and the TV and film industries could be interested in taking part in this challenge.