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  • 2017-01-12 (xsd:date)
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  • Can Hackers Use Peace Sign Selfies to Steal Fingerprints and Identities? (en)
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  • On 9 January 2017, Japanese outlet Shankei Shimbun published an article positing that hackers could use peace signs in selfies to obtain people's fingerprints and compromise their biometric security. Not long afterward, the article (and other stories about the same topic) had become inaccessible. A retrieved copy of the Shankei Shimbum article (translated) reported: The original articles were less about the dangers of identity theft using fingerprints, and more about the National Institute of Informatics' efforts to develop technology that could potentially prevent such theft in the future. Professor and researcher Isao Echizen, who works in the lab, told the media: The article did not explicitly mention the potential for hackers to steal identities, but when the claim filtered into the English-speaking press it was considerably puffed up into alarming claims: This excerpt described what was potentially possible, not what was necessarily taking place. Information about Echizen's role of anti-fingerprint theft technology was left out entirely, leaving the impression the information emerged purely as a safety warning, rather than as business news about the developing technology. Also missing from later reports were statements made by Echizen about fingerprint security and technological advances: Although the articles routinely referenced identity theft (commonly interpreted to mean unauthorized use of financial accounts and personal identification documents), they also described hypothetical situations in which a fingerprint passcodes could potentially be replicated. In those instances, the hackers would require both a rendering of the fingerprints and personal devices belonging to their targets (such as a smartphone or point of sale access) to do any damage: No evidence was presented to demonstrate that hackers are currently using photographs to duplicate fingerprints in order to commit crimes or steal identities. The professor quoted on the possibility works with a laboratory that is developing a technology to secure fingerprints, and noted that technology of any sort was not necessary to copy them, as people leave them on surfaces throughout the day. While the possibility exists that devices could potentially be compromised, the exaggerated headlines made the threat sound more plausible and immediate than even the professor with a new invention did. (en)
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