Like, anyway we could permanently change the patern on a finger?
Could you? Yes. But there really is no point— biometrics alone are only a single factor for authentication.
You should have at least two of the three— something you are (fingerprint, facial, or retinal recognition), something you have (badge, token, secure device), and something you know (passphrase).
Everyone always seems to forget rectal recognition SMH
Some places use penile codes, as well.
It really sucks when you’re told your code is too short to use.
You can actually use your penis to unlock your phone,
But, you shouldn’t.
I learned that on a course.
learned
American LARPing as a Brit.
Smart pipe
biometrics alone are only a single factor for authentication.
I’d argue that biometrics is NOT an authentication factor but is instead a username. You’re identifying who you are.
Authentication is, explicitly, the process of validating that you are who you say you are. Like biometrics, your username is part of your digital identity. So you are correct in arguing that biometrics alone is little stronger than a username, but by definition, both are part of authentication.
That said, to securely authenticate your identity, you need to use multiple factors.
No there is no way. And vecause of that it is a stupid idea to use fingerprints instead of passwords
So, like I couldn’t even technically create a Scar on the finger by continuously creating damage at the same place to destroy some details and create new ones?
You could.
Good luck with resetting your account credentials though.
Also: Please for the love of god do not apply this logic to cornea scans.
Oh God
You don’t even need to damage your fingers more than once. You just need to get the damage deep enough. Burning with thermal energy or chemicals would do it. You would NOT enjoy the process or the result.
Eye biometrics scan the iris or the retina, not the cornea (which is transparent)
Youre right, I got my eyeball parts confused.
that wouldn’t create a new one just alter the old one. you would have to destroy / scar / whatever your fingerprints to a point where they can’t be distinguished from others
You can’t change it, but you can remove it with fire.
I’ve totally had to wait for wounds to heal to recalibrate my thumbprint
Oh shit, new fear unlocked
Well, like, when you save your Fingerprint in your phone it stays in a safe place in the phone, but it could get stollen if a person made a shitty product, and like, I don’t know you but I only got 10 of those
Normally phones provide an API to use your fingerprint, but the fingerprint itself isn’t shared or stored. Just like passwords there are ways of sharing this without sharing the plain data or storing it.
It would be much easier to lift your fingerprint IRL and use it than through a website like that. At least without skipping through a lot of warnings.
To avoid always having to login, there’s a token cached on the browser side which lately has been the target of attacks. A temporary ticket store on your computer that people copy to use for a while and access sensistive info as if they had you crendentials. With this type of attack it doesn’t matter what the password type is.
TLDR fingerprints are as safe as any other password, which isn’t very safe.
Interesting read! Thank you
I have a scar across one of my fingers so that part of my fingerprint has changed
That was interesting and confirms what I remembered: you cannot alter your fingerprints. You can remove them, however.
Also interesting is that fingerprinting is not as certain as most think. A match is never 100%.
a match is never 100%
But but but, the CSI series catches murders with 100% matches! (Ok, they also hack in VBA)
I mean, you can do an awful lot in vba lol
Not to mention that not everyone has fingers.
Dude. Spell check.
I’d love a nice freshly baked fingerprint stollen. In Dec at least.
Stollen?
Yeah, like if we get crumbs on our fingertips.
Someone has stolen my stollen!
This isn’t helpful but my phone and laptop stopped being able to read my fingerprints following a stem cell transplant.
Not sure exactly what caused it (chemo, radiation, the transplant itself) but I did have to redo my fingerprints to unlock my phone and laptop.
