Samsung Galaxy S10 Hacked! Hackers Take Advantage of A Serious Security Flaw To Bypass Its Biometric System

The launching of Samsung Galaxy S10 came with plenty of hype about its all-new features, especially the ‘in-display’ fingerprint scanner that was supposedly ‘unhackable’.

The excitement stemmed from the convenience of use, since the scanner was built into the screen and the fact that manufacturers said the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor was more secure if not unhackable.

However, a security researcher has proved that the fingerprint scanner is not hacker-proof. Using, a 3D-printed copy of his fingerprints, he unlocked the phone, shattering the illusion of security for most Samsung Galaxy S 10 owners.

Despite the disappointing revelation, the Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint scanner is unlike the traditional fingerprint scanner. The superior ultrasonic scanner in the Galaxy S10 uses high-frequency ultrasonic sound waves to map a fingerprint in full detail. This creates a unique 3D map rather than a 2D one, that is regarded to be more secure.

But even with such superior features, how was the scanner hacked?

Truth is, the scanner did its job pretty well. The actual hack involved some clever tricks. The actual finger was lifted off the scanner and 3D replica of it was created.

The hacker used a photograph of his fingerprint and used photoshop to create a mask. Then with the help of 3ds Max software, the researcher created a detailed 3D model of the fingerprint.

The final part was as easy as printing the model using a 3D printer. Surprisingly, it only took him 20 minutes to finish the entire process.

While this may come as a shocking surprise to the average user, the truth is there isn’t much to do anyway. No biometric recognition system is completely unhackable, not even the much-hyped Face ID. A dedicated hacker with the right tools can find a way into your gadgets.

But there is not much to worry about, because the person who steals your phone to extract information would need the technical skills to hack as well as own a 3D printer. While others might think PIN or password as a more secure alternative to biometrics, but then one should be ready to trade off between security and convenience.