3D-printed Heads Can Bypass Facial Recognition Security

Facial recognition is becoming more and more popular these days in the smartphones. Undoubtedly, it throws out a fierce competition with the older technology - the fingerprint scanner. The goal of facial recognition on smartphones is to protect your personal data. However, with the boom of the facial recognition technology, people begin to suspect the security level of the system. They start to pose a question: Is facial recognition actually safe?

Tests are carried out to determine the efficiency of facial biometrics, according to a Forbes reporter. By using 3D-printed heads, the results of this test have shown that 3D-printed heads can bypass facial recognition security which has been applied in many smartphones. Noticeably, this occurs only in Android smartphone.

 3D-printed,  for those who don't already know,  is the process of creating a solid three-dimensional object. Nowadays, 3D-printed is growing more popular in many industries. Along with the development of technology, it's becoming possible to print almost anything, even a 3D model of your head.

Whether you use fingerprints scanner or face recognition, there is always a way of breaking into your phone, According to Orin Kerr, a professor at USC Gould School of Law, said by email. Kerr also added that the government somehow needs to obtain biometric unlocking information.

A senior counsel at the Project On Government Oversight,  Jake Laperruque  also mentioned:

Undoubtedly, 3D-printed heads can become a new approach to break into your phone. Under the 5th Amendment, the police can not force you into disabling your phone's biometrics. But they can compel you to do that yourself. Additionally, FBI is also said to encrypt thousands of devices.

Altogether, it’s easier than ever for police or FBI or hacker to bypass biometric scanners and access the people data.