Digital media experts are warning that people trying to commit identity theft may use photo manipulation software to capture one’s fingerprints and replicate them simply by obtaining them from selfies on the web, allowing them to use said prints for their own purposes. It’s disturbing to think that such a thing could happen, but one that can be avoided if you refrain from displaying the front of your hand and fingers in pictures that you decided to post on the Internet:
If you like to display the peace sign when posing for pictures or selfies, there’s a new strategy you should employ, effective immediately. Make sure the back, or fingernail side of your hand is displayed, and not the fingerprint side. If you are featured in any online photos where you are exposing your fingerprint, you might want to consider deleting those as soon as possible. Photos that are shared and stored online create an active database of fingerprints for thieves to exploit.
Advancements in photo manipulation software can now lead to identity theft; because it is now possible for identity thieves to successfully obtain your fingerprint data from images. Japanese professor, Isao Echizen, knows the dangers of exposing your fingerprints first hand. Echizen is advising people to reconsider the innocent peace sign pose, after a recent experiment was conducted by his team at the NII’s Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, where they were able to successfully retrieve peoples fingerprint data from photos that were taken from distances up to three meters away. “Fingerprint data can be re-created if fingerprints are in focus with strong lighting in a picture,” said Echizen.
The technique Echizen describes doesn’t use any special software, but certainly requires good lighting. Low light pictures aren’t a significant threat now, but could become more serious in the future as mobile cameras become more sophisticated. Whenever possible, it is important not to rely on security measures that require fingerprint data.
Biometrics are becoming an increasingly accepted form of reliable security, replacing passwords and other safeguarding solutions in many instances. Keeping your prints private is now a valid concern. You can always change your password after being hacked, but you can’t change your fingerprints.
Professor Echizen believes that celebrities are most vulnerable to the new method of identity theft; due to the high number of photographs they generally appear in. While regular individuals might downplay the threat, this is a real situation which has already caused everyday people to become victims of ransom scams, because they compromised the security of their digital data.
Source: Natural News
