3D Sonic Sensor spoofed by a 3D printer

© iStock.

Samsung’s Galaxy S10 features a new fingerprint sensor, the 3D Sonic Sensor by Qualcomm, which uses ultrasonic technology to generate a 3D representation of your finger. This innovation allows for an invisible, in-display fingerprint reader, touted by its creators to offer “vault-like security”. Last February, Qualcomm wrote, “Our ultrasonic sensor for fingerprint recognition can detect blood flow within the finger and actually prevent hackers from spoofing the device with a photo or a mold.”

Unfortunately, that claim seems to have been debunked by Imgur user “darkshark” without much difficulty: take a picture of a fingerprint on a glass surface, add contrast in Photoshop, import in a 3ds Max for a 3D model, then send to a resin stereolithography printer. Darkshark used the Anycubic Photon printer, which sells for just 650 CAD. When placed under the finger, the 3D fingerprint, printed on a resin sheet, handily unlocks the Galaxy S10. It just goes to show: biometrics are fine and good, but nothing beats long passwords.

⇨ Imgur, “I attempted to fool the new Samsung Galaxy S10’s ultrasonic fingerprint scanner by using 3d printing. I succeeded.”

⇨ Ars Technica, “Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint sensor defeated by a $450 3D printer.”