Hongguan News, a Chinese newspaper, reported that a security vulnerability stemming from the common habit of taking photos was recently highlighted during the reality show The Firsts in the Workplace: Finance Season. In one instance, singer Gao Qingchen made a V-sign pose while taking a photo with colleagues. Risk management expert Li Chang stated that this action exposed the singer's biometric information.

Li Chang explained that with today's high-resolution cameras, if a lens is pointed directly at fingers from a distance of under 1,5 meters, fingerprint information can be extracted with 100% certainty. At a distance of 1,5 to 3 meters, the data extraction rate is 50%. Devices can only fail to recognize fingerprints when the photo is taken from a distance exceeding 3 meters.

Fingerprints can be fully stolen when making a V-sign pose at 1,5 meters from the camera. Photo: Straits Times

Smartphone cameras with 50 megapixels or more, combined with AI image processing algorithms, can record fingerprint structures. When users upload original photos to social media, this data can be collected. Criminals use 3D printers to create fake silicone fingerprint membranes to unlock phones, access banking applications, or smart doors.

Li Chang noted that fingerprint leakage is part of a chain of identity theft risks. Criminals collect fingerprints from photos, combining them with facial images and voices from public videos to create deepfakes. Using this data, they impersonate victims for video call scams or bypass electronic verification steps to obtain loans.

Actor Gao Qingchen poses with a female cleaner in a selfie. Photo: World Journal

To protect personal data, Li Chang advised people not to input fingerprints into unfamiliar devices. Users can switch to an "inverted V" pose (turning the back of the hand towards the camera) or use applications to blur finger details before posting photos online.

By Bao Nhien (According to World Journal/ Straitstimes)