Hackers Can Now Steal Your Fingerprints Using Photographs

Though biometrics is believed to be one of the safest form of security, the current reports will make you believe that it isn't that difficult to break. A German hacker have come up with a technique that allows to fake the fingerprint just by using a photograph. Jan Starbug Krissler has been successful in fooling the touch ID software using fingerprint photograph allowing to gain access to confidential information. He demonstrated the technique speaking at CCC | Fingerprint Biometrics hacked again and faked the fingerprint of German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen.


This isn’t the first time that biometric ID has been cracked. Several successful attempts have been made earlier but it required the physical access to finger or capture the prints from shiny surface like glass or metal. The technique uses the high quality images of fingerprint along with a software VeriFinger that is used in fingerprint scanning. With these, hacker can bypass the sensors without the need of getting close to subject. According to Daily Mail, Krissler captured several high-quality images of German defence minister in the press conference. These photos were then used in combination with VeriFinger software to generate accurate fingerprints. The trick worked and he was able to fool the security system.

However, doing this isn’t that easy as it may sound. Attacker need to have fingerprint images from several angles in order to perform the hack. According to a website, high profile people are prone to such an attack who are specifically targeted while there’s a very low possibility of hackers using this techniques on masses. Since, iPhones and several other smartphones have started using fingerprint identification as a password, this technique definitely leave these devices vulnerable. Only time will reveal if researchers can bring any security measure to overcome this vulnerability.

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