Fingerprint-based biometric technology is used to secure everything
from iPhones to safes. Now, a member of the Chaos Computer Club, a
European hacker network, claims to have replicated the fingerprint of
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen using photographs of the
politician's thumb, the BBC reports.
At a CCC convention
in Hamburg, Germany, hacker Jan Krissler – also known as “Starbug” –
announced that he used a close-up photo of von der Leyen’s thumb along
with other images taken from various angles during a press event in
October to recreate the fingerprint.
Biometrics recognizes an individual based solely on behavioral or
physiological characteristics such as a person’s voice, retina, face,
signature, and, of course, fingerprints. These are all markers that are
very specific to an individual, and recreating something like a
fingerprint from a photograph is possible, but “not an easy thing to
do,” according to Stephen J. Elliott, director of the International
Center for Biometric Research at Purdue University. Elliott told FoxNews.com that while Krissler and other hackers could
construct an “image that looks like a fingerprint," biometric sensors
used for fingerprint scanning have "enough countermeasures built in that
would probably negate this type of attack.”
While Krissler’s announcement seemed to indicate that public figures
might want to be more careful to cover their hands during speeches and
events, Elliott cautioned that it is important to “remember that voice
is also a biometric.”
Given the growing ubiquity of fingerprint-based biometrics, will
companies look to other methods of security authentication? Elliott
envisions various kinds of biometrics jockeying for dominance.
“Vein is a relatively new – last seven years or so – biometric, which
can be used,” he explained. "I think we will see lots of different
biometric modalities vying for space in the mobile authentication
space.”
source: foxnews
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