May 03, 2023
Whether you are a man or a woman, old or young, whether you are taking a selfie or taking a photo, many people like gesture of Biye's scissors when taking a photo. Because of this gesture, photos often come out lively and playful. But Biye's gesture is very dangerous, it can reveal information about your fingerprints, did you notice?
Researchers from National Institute of Informatics of Japan recalled that if you post photos of faces and hands online, you are more likely to be blocked from fingerprint owner, and risk factor for theft is higher.
What experts say
Yang Qibo, security expert at Tencent Mobile Manager, said that from a technical point of view, it is possible to obtain fingerprints through photographs. If distance is close enough and pixel camera is very high, fingerprint information that can be collected by taking V-pose shots is theoretically possible, but actual operation can be very difficult.
Dr. Yin Desen, from Document Management Department of First Research Institute of Ministry of Public Security, said in an interview with media that fingerprints are inherently external characteristics that are usually very easy to leave, and means to obtain them are also very simple. If lines can be reflected, image can be processed by technical means to extract information about fingerprints.
What's wrong with having your fingerprint stolen?
Fingerprint information is unique, but it's also easy to copy, and once leaked, it's irreversible, and criminals can use it to compromise privacy and property security.
Fake fingerprints can be used by people to carry out criminal activities, as well as to sign certain documents. In addition, access control for some devices requires use of fingerprints to swipe card. Once fingerprints are stolen, others can pretend to have entered.
Once an application containing personal information is unlocked with a stolen fingerprint, on one hand, information will be revealed, and on other hand, money from account linked to application can be transferred through the fingerprint.
Don't worry about your fingerprints being stolen
Like a kind of password, fingerprints are not just compared by pictures, but actually compared by extracting some features. Some features such as bifurcation, texture, and other feature information are extracted from print, and then, after certain data processing, final key information is formed. For example, resolution of a regular camera may be 300dpi, resolution of a mobile phone may be around 70dpi, and resolution required for a smart lock is 500dpi. Retrieving accurate fingerprints is not easy. So we don't have to worry too much.
But with widespread use of fingerprints, development of pixels in cameras and development of high technology, it is difficult for us to guarantee absolute security of photographs. Therefore, we must pay special attention to protection of personal information about fingerprints, try not to take photos in which fingerprints can be detected, such as Beer's gestures, and raise awareness of privacy protection, thereby reducing unnecessary risks.
The last thing I would like to suggest to everyone: if you really like this gesture, turn your back on camera and Biya! (shown below)
