3D Printed Fingerprint Beats Samsung Galaxy S10’s Fingerprint Sensor

One of the features of the Samsung Galaxy S10 is the use of an in-display fingerprint sensor. What makes this different from other in-display sensors is that Samsung is said to have used Qualcomm’s fingerprint sensor which relies on ultrasonic technology. This is said to be more secure compared to regular fingerprint scanning, but maybe it isn’t quite foolproof yet.

In a series of photos and videos shared to Imgur, user darkshark showed how he lifted his own fingerprint from a wine glass and created a 3D printed version of it, which he then used on the Galaxy S10 and found that he was able to successfully tricky the system into letting him in, even though he did not use his actual finger.

According to darkshark, “If I steal someone’s phone, their fingerprints are already on it. I can do this entire process in less than 3 minutes and remotely start the 3d print so that it’s done by the time I get to it. Most banking apps only require fingerprint authentication so I could have all of your info and spend your money in less than 15 minutes if your phone is secured by fingerprint alone.”

What’s worrying is that previously we have heard of how it is possible to lift fingerprints from photos, meaning that bypassing fingerprint security systems might not be as difficult as one might think. Neither Samsung nor Qualcomm have responded to the report yet.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: 3D Printing, Galaxy S10, Qualcomm, Samsung, Security