Security researchers from the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken demonstrated a simple and inexpensive way to create a fingerprint clone from a photograph using a standard laser printer, carpenter's glue, and readily available materials. It was noted that the resulting mold allowed bypassing biometric fingerprint authentication and unlocking the researchers' iPad, MacBook Pro, and hardware cryptocurrency wallet.
Fingerprint recreation methods have been known for a long time, but they typically required specialized skills or expensive equipment, such as a 3D printer. The cost of creating a clone using the proposed method is approximately $5. In the first step, a regular smartphone captures an imprint left on any smooth surface, for example, on a glossy screen/lid of a laptop or smartphone.
Then, in any graphic editor, the contrast of the fingerprint pattern is increased, a negative is created, and the image is cropped and converted to black-and-white format. After that, the prepared image is printed on a standard laser printer, but instead of paper, an acetate sheet is usedātransparent film used for making stencils, stickers, and cards. During the printing process, toner forms textured raised grooves on the acetate sheet, replicating the fingerprint pattern.
In the final step, a thin layer of carpenter's glue is applied to the film, which, after drying, forms an elastic substance that replicates the three-dimensional fingerprint pattern. Placing the resulting film on a finger made it possible to unlock most of the tested biometric fingerprint verification systems.
Source: opennet.ru
