Even Your Phone's Fingerprint Sensor Isn't Safe!

Three Indian-American researchers have shown that the fingerprint-based security systems used in smartphones and other gadgets are way more vulnerable to hacking than we imagined.


There is nothing quite as convenient these days as a one-stop fingerprint access -- goodbye multiple passwords -- to our smartphones and the many apps it holds. 

After all, what can be more secure than our unique fingerprints, right?

Well, three Indian-American researchers just burst that bubble.

In a study titled MasterPrint: Exploring the Vulnerability of Partial Fingerprint-based Authentication Systems, which appeared in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics & Security last month, they showed how the fingerprint-based security systems used in smartphones and other gadgets are a lot more vulnerable than we imagined.

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