Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can synthesise fake human fingerprints and potentially fool biometric authentication systems.
Fingerprint authentication systems are a widely trusted, ubiquitous form of biometric authentication, deployed on billions of smartphones and other devices worldwide.
However, researchers from New York University (NYU) in the US revealed a surprising level of vulnerability in these systems.
Using a neural network, they evolved a fake fingerprint that could fool biometric authentication for one in five people. Much the way that a master key can unlock every door in a building, these “DeepMasterPrints” use artificial intelligence to match a large number of prints stored in fingerprint databases and could thus theoretically unlock a large number of devices.
The work builds on earlier research led by Nasir Memon, professor at NYU. Memon, who coined the term “MasterPrint,” described how fingerprint-based systems use partial fingerprints, rather than full ones, to confirm identity.
Researchers took this concept further, training a machine-learning algorithm to generate synthetic fingerprints as MasterPrints. (PTI)
