Back in April, it was reported that the Samsung Galaxy S10’s ultrasonic fingerprint scanner could be fooled by a 3D-printed mould of a user’s finger. Now, to make matters worse, it’s being reported that installing a third-party screen protector on the phone’s display enables unregistered fingerprints to unlock the phone.
The Galaxy S10 owner, who lives in the UK, told the country’s local tabloid The Sun, that she bought a third-party silicone screen protector on eBay for her Galaxy S10. She discovered the flaw after she noticed that her husband was able to unlock her phone with his fingerprint. Despite not being registered on the phone.
The emergence of this flaw has been deemed so serious, the South Korean online bank, Kakaobank, has begun advising owners to switch off the feature, at least until the issue has been resolved.
It is still not known what is causing the ultrasonic scanner to be defective. To recap, the security feature is both designed and provided by Qualcomm. The technology uses ultrasonic technology and bounces waves off a fingerprint and back to read. The installation of a third-party screen protector may have hindered the scanner’s ability.
On a side note, the Galaxy Note10 series may suffer the same crippling flaw, especially since both series use the same fingerprint scanner technology. Samsung did not mention if the Note 10 series are affected as well, but if you’re a Note10 owner, we think it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Samsung has already issued a statement about the matter. It says that it is already investigating the matter internally and reminds its customers to always use its authorised accessories that are designed specifically for its products.
(Source: Engadget, The Sun UK, Reuters)
