Enhancing Security: Designer Reinvents Fingerprint Authentication for More Robust Use

Fingerprint technology, a means of authentication, has been in existence for some time now. Tech behemoths are considering abandoning the traditional password systems due to its well-documented infirmities. The prevailing wisdom asserts that passwords for online accounts should be updated every three months to maintain secure digital protection. However, the general public’s adherence to this recommendation is lackluster at best, primarily due to the sheer number of accounts individual users possess.

Global corporations – including Google and MasterCard – are steadily transitioning from passwords to biometrics, predominantly fingerprint recognition, for the validation process. Fingerprint data, being uniquely characteristic of individuals, has traditionally been considered challenging, if not impossible, to penetrate; the data is usually stored securely on servers. However, the breaches at LinkedIn and Twitter inform us that even such data is vulnerable to theft by deft hackers operating in the nebulous dark web.

Fingerprint data, once possessed, can be sold to adversaries for nefarious use, as demonstrated when the American Office of Personnel Management was infiltrated leaving the biometric records of roughly 5.6 million people compromised. For instance, devices such as the recent iPhone versions or banking systems store fingerprint details on ostensibly “secure” servers.

Despite the inherently secure nature of fingerprints, they are not utterly invulnerable. My research unraveled that bypassing fingerprint security is not as complex as one would imagine. Simple techniques such as using rubber cement, similar to the ones we’ve used in our primary school art projects, can form exact replicas of fingerprints. However, this method necessitates the cooperation or coercion of the print owner. Other methods entail the use of gelatin, known for its conductive properties akin to human skin, and hence can easily deceive sophisticated biometric readers.

So where does that leave us in our quest for a truly secure form of identity authentication?

During my research, I discovered a [MotherBoard article](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/i-replaced-my-fingerprints-with-prosthetics-to-avoid-surveillance) highlighting an innovative concept that uses prosthetics to prevent unauthorized personal fingerprint theft. The piece was based on the work of Mian Wei, an industrial design student at Rhode Island School of Design. Wei has created a kit, termed ‘IDENTITY’, enabling anyone to overlay their actual fingerprint with a functional, replaceable, and virtually impossible to duplicate faux one.


“We are all cyborgs now, connected to the internet 24 hours,” asserts Wei. His project aims to merge the gap between digital and physical security. The IDENTITY kit, packaged to mimic a common pharmaceutical item, provides store-like unease to the user. Each prosthetic is designed like band-aids from a counter-surveillance first aid kit, composed of a conductive silicone mixture integrated with a random array of fibers substituting your actual finger’s minute ridges traced by regular sensors.

Once you’ve applied the prosthetic, the generated fingerprints are randomly arrayed lines, making it virtually impossible to recognize or reproduce them. Importantly, even if someone managed to replicate your real fingerprint, they will not be able to unlock any device where the artificial fingerprint was applied.

Wei’s innovative IDENTITY prosthetics performed impressively during a two-week trial. It proved reliable once assigned to unlock a smartphone – an iPhone 6S and a Nexus 5X were put to use during the test phase. Such security improvements make fake fingerprints a plausible security measure, at least in certain situations.

We should warn, however, that this does not guarantee absolute protection either. Biometrics can sometimes be complemented with facial recognition, although faces can be easily doctored with Photoshop. As always emphasized, the onus of your digital security rests primarily on your actions. Be smart and refrain from clicking suspicious links or leaving your devices unattended.

Even with the monumental advancement made by Mian Wei’s IDENTITY prosthetics, we must remain vigilant. As technology evolves, so too does the cunning of those determined to exploit it.

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.