Computer system beats CAPTCHA checks by thinking more like a human

A group of researchers has developed a computer model that's capable of cracking text-based CAPTCHA keys. Given that the purpose of CAPTCHA is to test whether the entity attempting to access a service is human, this is a considerable step forward for developing computers that think like humans. Text-based CAPTCHAs–the name coming from the phrase Completely Automated Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart–are often used by web services that might suffer an attack based around an influx of automated users. Account sign-up services and ticketing sites often use them to confirm that visitors are human. CAPTCHA work by displaying letters that are relatively easy for a human read, but hard for a computer that's trained on the standard shapes of the alphabet to decipher.