The Galaxy S10's fingerprint reader was thwarted by a 3D printer
It could take someone just 15 minutes to print a viable fake biometric marker.
The fingerprint reader in the Samsung Galaxy S10 has caused a few issues already, such as incompatibility with some types of screen protectors. The in-display scanner uses ultrasound to read the physical ridges of your fingerprint, supposedly making the device more secure -- thieves shouldn't be able to press a photo of owners' prints against the reader to unlock the device, for example. But it seems people are already finding ways to thwart the sensor.
An Imgur user named darkshark claims they used a 3D-printed version of their fingerprint to unlock the S10. They snapped a photo of their fingerprint from a wine glass and used 3D editing software to add depth. They then sent the scan to an Anycubic Photon LCD resin printer, which costs around $460. After some trial and error on darkshark's part, it took the printer only about 13 minutes to print a phony biometric marker that fooled the scanner. Since our phones typically already have fingerprints on them, darkshark suggests it could take just 15 minutes to unlock a stolen device for someone with the means to do so.
