Sometimes law enforcement agencies want or need access to the phones of suspects or victims, but with password protection and encryption, they can't get. Just ask the FBI, which spent more than $1 million to decrypt the phone of the San Bernardino shooter. Fusion reports that one police department is trying a different approach: 3D-printed fingerprints.

The police approached researcher Anil Jain, who studies biometric security at the Michigan State University. Officers acquired the phone of a murder victim, and they believe there are clues to the ID of the murderer hidden on that phone. However, they need a fingerprint or a passcode to gain access. So Jain is going to do something that's never been done before: he's going to use 3D printing to create replicas of the dead man's fingers to unlock his phone.

The problem is more complex than simply printing new copies of the victim's fingers. Fingerprint scanners on phones are capacitive, meaning they work by sensing electrical currents that are formed when the finger touches the scanner. Our fingers conduct electricity, but 3D plastic doesn't, so Jain has to coat the replica fingers in a thin metallic layer so the fingerprint scanner will pick them up.

Jain says his lab will spend a few more weeks testing the replica fingers before handing them over to the police. Once the police have those fingers, they can unlock the victim's phone, provided that the phone in question isn't one of the many that also require a passcode after going too long without a fingerprint unlock. If it is, then Jain may want to work a little faster.

Source: Fusion

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