More than a third of smartphone facial biometric systems defeated with photo

Printed photos of a smartphone user were sufficient to unlock 42 out of 110 devices (38 percent) with facial recognition, in a test by Dutch no-profit Consumentenbond, ZDNet reports.

The organization used photos printed from images found on social media, CCTV footage, and other sources. They were able to unlock devices from Blackberry, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, and Xiaomi, though for some models and settings devices from Huawei, LG, Lenovo, and Samsung passed the test. Devices from Apple, OnePlus, and several other manufacturers blocked the spoof attempt.

ZDNet reports that facial biometric systems which can be unlocked with a photo are usually considered useless, though devices from several manufacturers including LG and Samsung warn users that their facial recognition feature reduces overall security.

A reporter recently spoofed the facial recognition systems of several Android devices with a custom 3D-printed head.

A presentation scheduled for the upcoming Black Hat Asia conference on defeating Apple’s Face ID was recently cancelled, after it was deemed “incomplete,” as it can only be reproduced in specific circumstances with a certain model.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometrics  |  face photo  |  facial recognition  |  smartphones  |  spoofing