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Japan Researchers Warn of Fingerprint Theft From 'Peace' Sign (phys.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the finer-details dept.

Tulsa_Time quotes a report from Phys.Org: Could flashing the "peace" sign in photos lead to fingerprint data being stolen? Research by a team at Japan's National Institute of Informatics (NII) says so, raising alarm bells over the popular two-fingered pose. Fingerprint recognition technology is becoming widely available to verify identities, such as when logging on to smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. But the proliferation of mobile devices with high-quality cameras and social media sites where photographs can be easily posted is raising the risk of personal information being leaked, reports said. The NII researchers were able to copy fingerprints based on photos taken by a digital camera three meters (nine feet) away from the subject.

4 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Something similar was done 2 years ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    German defense minister got her fingerprints "stolen" in a similar fashion two years ago.

  2. Peace sign - fuck that by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's the V for victory

  3. Rock/metal horns also affected by azrael29a · · Score: 3, Informative

    I guess the horns "\m/" sign is also affected, even though you're displaying only your index and pinky fingers. The vulcan greeting sign "_\\//" would be the worst to photograph, since it displays all the fingerprints.

  4. Re:Sigh. by ledow · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually guys, this is not only possible - it's old news.

    And, no, it doesn't necessarily need stupendously perfect conditions:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/tech...