3D printed fingerprints: implications for our security

Researchers at Michigan State University have created a wearable fingerprint that is recognised by all 3 types of fingerprint readers.

These fingerprints, created from 3D-printed molds, use a silicone material to mimic human skin. So successful are these ‘targets’, they pass through optical, capacitive, and ultrasound-based readers. This introduces a number of questions about our future security. Fingerprint scanners are becoming more and more used in hospitals/medical devices, smartphones and criminal profiling, and rely on their absolute accuracy. If these were able to be faked using these 3D-print molds, this poses risks to patients, phone security, and more.

The fingerprint targets are made from a combination of thinned silicone, a plastic (polydimethylsiloxane), and a skin-like pigment. These materials allowed the ‘target’ to feel like real human skin, resemble the make-up of it, and convey similar electrical properties to skin. This allows them to pass through these different scanners. Due to this composition however, the fingerprints could not be 3D-printed, so 3D-printed molds were used instead.