Hacker Club Publishes German Official's Fingerprint

A number of readers let us know about the Chaos Computer Club's latest caper: they published the fingerprint of German Secretary of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble (link is to a Google translation of the German original). The club has been active in opposition to Germany's increasing push to use biometrics in, for example, e-passports. Someone friendly to the club's aims captured Schäuble's fingerprint from a glass he drank from at a panel discussion. The club published 4,000 copies of their magazine Die Datenschleuder including a plastic foil reproducing the minister's fingerprint — ready to glue to someone else's finger to provide a false biometric reading. The CCC has a page on their site detailing how to make such a fake fingerprint. The article says a ministry spokesman alluded to possible legal action against the club.

Comments

In future news...

[Spartan Niner]

We hear that Wolfgang Schäuble is convicted of committing 17 crimes. Simultaneously

Re:In future news...

[metlin]

One can only hope.

What better way than a senior official to be convicted of crimes as a result of identity theft because officials such as him decided that privacy didn't really matter anymore?

Personally, I sincerely wish that this happens in all the countries which have fingerprinting in place. Enough already.

Re:In future news...

[evil_aar0n]

On the other hand - no pun intended - this might actually work out in his favor, since he _could_ go out and commit a crime, and they'd have to wonder whether the fingerprint evidence was valid or not.

Good for them

[Scareduck]

High officials often seem to think the consequences of privacy-invading legislation will only occur to other (read: little) people. It's good to remind people in those positions that they do not have absolute power, and that they need to think about second order consequences.

Re:Good for them

[swright]

Maybe this is what you meant, but I just think this is the perfect example to illustrate to all how biometrics are just NOT the be-all and end-all. If only for the one simple fact that he cannot change his fingerprint like he could a password that got compromised!

Re:Good for them

[aproposofwhat]

Two words.

Duress codes.

Enter one code to authenticate normally, another to flag up that you are being forced to authenticate.

Not quite ironclad, but an extra level of safety.

Re:Good for them

[Matt Perry]

Enter one code to authenticate normally, another to flag up that you are being forced to authenticate.

Then they'd have to keep TWO post-it notes under their keyboard.

Major flaw of biometrics

[this great guy]

This event highlights one of the major flaw of biometrics. This official had his fingerprint copied. There is nothing he can do. He can't change it. He can't prevent people from using it. No fingerprint reader will ever be able to determine with 100% certainty whether a particular fingerprint is real or fake. Bottom line: when one of your biometric traits gets stolen, you get screwed. For life.

I hope this convinces governments that using biometrics for anything is a bad idea (other than perhaps criminal investigations, although what if this german official's fingerprint was found on a murder scene ?).

Re:Major flaw of biometrics

[BlackCreek]

The whole point of the parent poster is apparently lost to you.

The point being that my biometric data is mine. It is private. It is not the government's business to have my blood samples, or DNA, or finger print. I am not a criminal, and therefore I expect to be entitled to some privacy from the BigBrother.

Once some retarded government bureaucrat decides to leave a laptop inside a taxi or something, my private data is lost, and I can never get a new fingerprint, or iris scan. I can get a new social security number, I can get a new passport, a new bank account number, but I **cannot** get a new DNA.

Re:Brave defenders of freedom

[Anonymous Coward]

At least they get off their asses unlike American's who cry about the Constitution but do fuck all about it.

Bush was right, it is JUST a piece of PAPER. Why? Because American's do NOTHING about it and do not believe in it.

This is plain to see by their inactions.

Re:couldn't possibly have negative consequences

[Yokaze]

Hardly. The CCC is a highly prolific club and is very likely keen on some legal "retaliation", as it would generate even more public attention on that matter.
Since the Home Secretary stated, that storing fingerprints is no privacy concern, he would be hard pressed to explain his stance.

Re:Biometrics: lamest of all security protocols

[Fission86]

When one of those 27 properties is compromised, how do you revoke its use? Cut it off?

Re:Respect, respect maan!

[Foobar of Borg]

Yeah if someone tried this with a high ranking government official in America, China or somewhere, they would indeed mysteriously 'disappear' in 60 seconds.

There, fixed that for you. I guess now it's Germany, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave (WTF?)

Re:couldn't possibly have negative consequences

[Belial6]

It likely is. In just the same way that sinking the Titanic before any passengers boarded would have been grounds for criminal action.

Re:couldn't possibly have negative consequences

[dirtsurfer]

>> Oh all the people to humiliate... a senior public official who sets policy for something you directly care about. This couldn't possibly turn out badly.

I love the idea that the way to make politicians do what you want is to be nice to them.

so apparently Monica Lewinsky was probably about a week away from getting us all free national healthcare, too. Curse you, mainstream media!

There actually *are* things to like about Germany

[Qbertino]

The CCC is one of the things I like about Germany. It highlights a major element of german-style citizen-culture. It's clearly opposed to uncontrolled gouverment and any notion of a police-state. It has a taste of anarchy to it and on its fringes it has inofficial members with ties to the black-hat community. Yet it is a well organised official registered German association that speaks up on behalf of the people and democracy. With a 27-year tradition of keeping the public political debate alive on IT related rights-issues by perpetually coming up with creative ways of gaining attention. This recent 'Schäuble-Fingerprint' stunt being one of them. I don't know if they've exposed their selves with legal liability by doing this (after all it was officially published in their magazine 'Datenschleuder') but it sure is as funny, hilarious and exposing as ever. Creative non-sense at its best. Go, CCC!