Fun with Fingerprint Readers

Mythbusters also tried some different methods for beating the system http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA4Xx5Noxyo

It's from May 15, 2002.

I wonder how the situation is today. Any new findings?

"After it lets you in, eat the evidence."

This is genius.

I was thinking the first gelatin finger he made was just a smooth finger-shaped mold and inferred that it worked by simply pressing the pattern left by the oil residue of the last person to place their finger on the pad. I thought that was pretty cool, but then wondered why they considered the second more arduous process of printing and etching a fingerprint with the same success rate more interesting. I was thinking, well that can be solved simply with software. Like don't let the same person enter a door twice in a certain time-window.

Then I realized the first method meant you actually had to mold a finger that already has access, fingerprint and all. Oh, ok now the second more arduous method is more impressive.

Biometrics of this sort have been known for years as a soft security system - similar to a text password.

Matsumoto's paper is not on the Web. You can get a copy by asking. :(