To compromise your device or account, one doesn't even need direct access to your fingerprint. A photo of a surface you’ve touched will do.

Stealing the Fingerprint

With the fingerprint in hand, all we need to do is place it on the scanner.The team at Kraken was able to perform this well-known attack on the majority of devices available with them. Had this been a real attack, they would have had access to a vast range of sensitive information.

Launching the Attack

With this photo at anyone's disposal, an hour in Photoshop yields a decent negative.

By Spending Some Time With Photoshop

Fingerprint authentication is a convenient alternative to passwords and PIN codes. It comes with a cost, though. Because, unlike a regular password, you leave your fingerprint on taxi doors, phone screens, and glasses of wine at restaurants.

Convenience Comes With A Price

A fingerprint should not be considered a secure alternative to a strong password. Doing so leaves your information — and, potentially, your cryptoassets — vulnerable to even the most unsophisticated of attackers. It should be clear by now that, despite being unique to you, your fingerprint can still be exploited with relative ease. At best, you should only consider using it as second-factor authentication (2FA).

Protecting Yourself From the Attack

For our final step, add some wood glue on top of the print to bring to life a fake fingerprint that we can use on a scanner.

The Final Touch

Next, print the image onto an acetate sheet with the help of a laser printer — the toner creates a 3D structure of the fingerprint on the sheet.

Print The Image Onto An Acetate Sheet

Wondering if hacking your fingerprint is too complicated, if not impossible? Think again.

Stealing the Fingerprint

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