DIY fingerprints

Thursday, 26 April 2007 00:00 Written by Ilva Pieterse

Tsepo Technology Consulting says fake prints can fool readers MANY PEOPLE make the assumption that fingerprint readers are safe from hacking. Frans Sauermann, senior consultant at Tsepo Technology Consulting, not only disputes this fact, but shows how simple it is to make a "fake" fingerprint to use in gaining access.

RECIPE:

1. Find your target person and their fingerprint on a door or reader - anywhere a fingerprint can be left.
2. Lift fingerprint from the glass or reader using clear adhesive tape.
3. Scan and photoshop the image to enhance ridges.
4. Print and etch a printed circuit board (PCB) for the `ridge` part of the mould.
5. Make positive and negative casts from the PCB.
6. Mould the fake fingerprints from the cast using gelatine.
7. Try out on your targeted fingerprint reader (using covert method, of course).

Basically, it is as simple as that, Sauermann says, and much of this method can be done in about half an hour.

Sauermann explains that some other biometric methods can also be fooled. Iris scans, he says, have also been bypassed. "All you need is a picture of someone`s eye."

Although retina scans are much more secure, Sauermann says they are very inconvenient and expensive. "Even a face scan can be hacked if you have a recording or picture of someone`s face. Walking towards the scanner with the image displayed on a laptop will often grant access.

THE WINNER?

"The hand shape is definitely the most difficult to obtain or manipulate," explains Sauermann.

"But remember," he warns. "If someone really wants to get access to somewhere, they`ll find means of obtaining the body part itself."

"Rather use old access cards than a fingerprint reader - you can report a lost access card, but you cannot report a lost fingerprint," says Sauermann. "If you have to use a fingerprint scanner, combine it with a PIN number as well."

Tags: Security