Reddit User Bypasses Samsung Galaxy’s Fingerprint Security with 3D Imaging
The newly-enhanced fingerprint scanner feature in the Samsung Galaxy S10 is not as secure as the Korean company claims it to be. Recently, a Reddit user who goes by darkshark9, found the scanner could be tricked into unlocking the device with the help of a 3D printed fingerprint stolen from its owner.
Darkshark9 managed to unlock his Samsung Galaxy S10 using his 3D printed fingerprint picked up from a photo of a wine glass taken using the smartphone. After pulling the image into Photoshop, he increased the contrast, and created an alpha mask. He then exported that over to 3ds Max and created a geometry displacement, giving him a raised 3D model of every last detail of the fingerprint.
Now, as simple as this sounds, it did take darkshark9 three attempts before he got the perfect 3D printed fingerprint. However, once he did so, he was able to unlock his phone with the print, just as well as he could with his actual finger.
This goes to show that, while using a smartphone’s face unlock or fingerprint scanner may make unlocking the device a lot faster, using a pin or a password to protect the sensitive information on one’s phone is the only way to go.
