Hacker fakes German minister's fingerprints using photos of her hands (2014)

Even if it worked perfectly, this kind of thing is probably very time sensitive and short lived. Did it still work on the very next years model of phone?

I think there are weaknesses all over the place still today, and wide variation between manufacturers and price points, but I assume the details change and get harder all the time, or at least change, making an example from 10 years ago of limited interest today, UNLESS the same thing also still worked today.

Another aspect of that would be how the tools on both sides progress not just one side. A casual photograph from a common camera or phone from a reasonable distance today having a lot more information in it for instance. Or maybe other tools like fabricating a physical model from data by 3d printing etc, where the tools are both better and more readily available so the bar is lower even if the fundamental process is the same. That difference alone may make things go from possible to practical.

Seems like it's 2024 and still nothing can beat a complex password saved in a password manager. With OTP as a good way of annoying users, and other ones being totally useless.

Thinking about this, I observe that the problem of the factors of security is in fact tied to the problem of identifying someone : If you can prove that "someone/something" is "you", then you are giving "someone/something" the permissions to act as "you". There are lots of tricks we invented to evade the problem; I am pretty sure our common knowledge (yours and mine) of these tricks includes the one about "knocking three time on the door in a specific rythm" or the one about "You will ask this specific question and I will answer with that exact sentence". I would like to enquire about the problems of security and identification; cannot we do better than what we're currently doing, and why is it that any effort we do aiming for better resembles these tricks I talked about ? What's funny about this problems is the fact that in the context of everyday life, you sometimes prove that you are you by showing e.g. an ID card to a police officer. If I had a twin, that twin could do a lot of things as me, he could do nice things, but he could also do bad things. What would stop my twin from being identified as me by others would be the fact e.g. he doesn't possess my ID card; but a card can be stolen (OTP). My evil twin could also be suspected of not being me if for example, he didn't know something people know I know; it could also be mistaken for silliness, but okay. He could learn everything I know, or be spying on me enough so that he knows what I know (Password).

When no one doubts about you being you, it means that everyone agrees with the fact that you are yourself, i.e. every "party" identify you as yourself, and the fact that every other party is identifying you as yourself makes individual parties even more sure that you are yourself. But on what evidences rely the third parties confidence in you being you ? How can you trust that third parties aren't corrupted or mistaken ? Take the most extreme case : you must tell if someone is lying or not about its identity AND if you're wrong, you die. I could trust third parties only if they brang some crucial facts; passwords and possession are unsignificant evidences in that context. But if the quantity of third party is enough, and if each third party knows a different passord AND if you know a different password AND the person to identify gave the correct answer for each and everyone of them, it is becoming more and more unprobable that the person is not the one they claimed to be.

But I am not satisfied with this, there must be some more elegant and trustful way of identifying people. Now that we're able to imitate the voice, fingerprints, and etc... what other trick can we find that is not a trick ?

the main problem is identity theft. someone impersonating you to hide their activities. we found your fingerprints on the weapon used for last nights robbery.