Two researchers have discovered a new hacking method for smartphones that use fingerprints to protect the user's data.
Kai Cao and Anil K. Jain of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University devised a very simple and fast fingerprinting method. With this method, they can unlock smartphones within 15 minutes.
The two researchers report say their attack is much more effective than the one presented by the German Chaos Computer Club (C3) when the iPhone 5S was released. The method of C3 uses a 2.5D fingerprint made from the owner's fingerprint.
For their attack, they used a regular inkjet printer, three conductive inks, a regular black ink cartridge, and special paper.
Researchers have said that everyone can get the fingerprints of smartphone owners, even from the stolen mobiles themselves.
How;
If you scan the mobile to 300 dpi with a horizontal flip, then you can print it on the glossy side of the Agić special paper.
Cut the fingerprint, and place it above the fingerprint sensor of the phone. The phone will recognize the fingerprint and give access to the attacker.
The whole process takes about 15 minutes, and has been successfully tested on devices Samsung Galaxy S6 and Huawei Hornor 7. The researchers reported that the Samsung smartphones were very easy, while the Huawei phone required more efforts.
The use of biometrics is poised to become the next big move for online better safety, and this specific attack comes to remind us, that the system fingerprint authentication, not yet reliable.
For more details, read the study of researchers:
Hacking Mobile Phones Using 2D Printed Fingerprints (PDF)
Below is the attack video.
