NEW YORK — Social media posts have claimed that hackers can extract fingerprints from photo subjects flashing peace signs and enhance them using artificial intelligence. The posts, many of which originated from an April segment on a media program, suggest that a peace sign selfie taken within a few feet of the camera could allow cybercriminals to digitally extract fingerprints.
Justin Cappos, a New York University professor and cybersecurity expert, dismissed the likelihood of such attacks affecting ordinary users. "You have a better chance of being hit by a car tomorrow than this happening to you in your lifetime," Cappos said. He added that most people are more likely to be targeted through phishing scams, such as emails containing links to malware or fraudulent websites, than through fingerprint extraction. "I don't think cyber criminals have started to try to weaponize it at any scale. Ten years from now, who knows if the landscape has shifted and cyber criminals are using this as an attack vector or something. But definitely, where we are today, this is not going to happen."
Vyas Sekar, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, acknowledged the theoretical possibility but emphasized practical limitations. "This sounds like the stuff out of spy novels or 'Mission Impossible.' In theory, it's possible, especially if people are posting high resolution images." He noted that a hacker would need to be "fairly determined" and would likely target a "high-value target" such as someone with access to a high-security facility.
Even if a fingerprint were successfully extracted, additional barriers remain. Hackers would still need access to the physical scanner that the fingerprint unlocks, such as on a laptop or a thumbprint pad at a bank. Unlike passwords, biometric data cannot be changed, raising concerns about long-term security if such data is compromised.
Past incidents involving fingerprint replication are distinct from current AI-based claims. In 2014, a hacker reportedly cloned the fingerprint of Ursula von der Leyen, then Germany's defense minister, using close-up photos from a press event. That same year, security researchers at the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken constructed a fingerprint from a photo of one marked on a surface using Photoshop, a printer, and glue.