Play-Doh fingers can fool 90% of scanners, sez Clarkson U. study

Whenever discussing some new device that incorporates fingerprint scanning, we always make that stupid joke about how "now the crooks just need to cut off your finger to steal your ____." Well it turns out that criminals don't even need to go through the hassle of breaking out that hacksaw as long as they have some dental molding and Play-Doh handy. Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Stephanie Schuckers and her team at Clarkson University found that most scanning systems can be fooled 90% of the time by taking a mold of the mark's finger, filling the mold with Play-Doh, and using the fake digit to gain access. Don't go running out to Toys 'R Us just yet, though, as the Clarkson team also designed an algorithm that detects the spread of perspiration from the pores out to the ridges of a live person's finger, and is only foiled by the Play-Doh method 10% of the time. Still, until this new tech becomes more widespread, along with iris scans, facial and voice recognition, and implanted RFID verification, we're gonna continue keeping our cash under the mattress that we fiercely guard as we telecommute from atop it.

[Via The Raw Feed]

[Hawk @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

While this sounds onerous, you're forgetting the reality that in order to break into a system using this method, you still need to get ahold of the actual person or their finger. You might as well get them to go with you to wherever you need access and stick their finger into the system. If you had access to the person long enough to take a mold of their finger, you could probably do other things with them, such as ransom them, force them to perform sexual favors, tickle them until they told you every piece of their electronic information library, etc.

[R @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Actually latent fingerprints have been an issue for along time. A Japanese researcher released a paper where he picked up latent fingerprints from objects and made gelatin molds. I would only trust fingerprint scanners in a two-factor authentication scheme. They aren't a deterrent for anyone serious about bypassing them.

http://www.cryptome.org/gummy.htm

[gezepi @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

How about this, you make a mold of somebody's finger before they are buried or creamated (somebody that is already dead, unless you need to make a corpse) and just keep the mold safe. Then unless the crook knows your secret, he would try to get your fingerprint. It's brilliant! Maybe not.

[DM @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Play....DOH!! (sorry, had to...)

[popeye cahn @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Cash under mattress? I prefer it in an old coffee can in a hole in the backyard, guarded by a redneck with an AK47... Now which hole did I put that 10K into...

[VEGA @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Let's not forget Superglue. That's what the feds use for lifting latent prints.

[Tweaq @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

I've done several essays on the subject. And its pretty easy to fool a fingerprint scanner. ccc.de has a tutorial on how to do it. just a latent print some superglue and computer processing.

[Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

So the matress is wherre you keep your funds, hold on I'll be right over to steal it.... Go ahead tell the world where your girl friend is while your at it.

[Mercenary Insulin 2 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Anyone has tried to bake the molding? it would make a portable fingerprint "stamp".

[Jim @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

ccc.de all in German and French too bad.

[Matt Thurston @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

It's even easier to pull the hard drive and mount it in a different computer if you;re after the data. Most of these fingerprint readers don't offer any real hard security. Usually they just provide a new front end to winlogin.

[Benjamin @ Dec 19th 2005 2:38AM]

Well ,that happens with poorly designed readers.Try doing that on Sagem or U are U ,then I can start talking about keeping my bucks under a mattress

[Rusty Shackleford @ Feb 16th 2006 1:26PM]

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