Hackers use fingerprints on a drinking glass to break into smartphones

A Tencent team demonstrated how to break into smartphone fingerprint scanners in just 20 minutes

Samsung suffered an embarrassing episode when it was discovered anyone can crack their ultrasonic fingerprint sensor with the help of a cheap screen protector. (Picture: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

Are you sure you want to drink that glass of water? Because that glass will have your fingerprints all over it. And that, apparently, is enough to crack your smartphone.

Tencent Security's X-Lab team demonstrated this at a hacking event in Shanghai by inviting members of the audience to touch a glass. Then the team's leader, Chen Yu, took out his phone, snapped a photo of the fingerprints, and ran it through their new app to extract accurate data. That was used to create a physical version of the fingerprints in just 20 minutes.
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