A Samsung Galaxy S10 bug allows user to unlock the phone with any fingerprint, exposing how insecure it could be in a particularly scenario.
The issue is serious enough to prompt South Korean bank KaKaobank to tell its customers to stop using the Galaxy S10's fingerprint scanner for logging into its services until the bug is fixed.
According to British publication The Sun, a 34 year-old woman was shocked to discover one of those dirt-cheap screen protectors you can buy on eBay somehow totally broke the fingerprint authentication security on her state-of-the-art Galaxy S10.
Photo Credit: NB PRESS
Per the report:
Lisa Neilson, 34, bought the gel cover to protect her new S10.
With the screen on, Lisa set up her right thumb print to access the phone but later used her left, which unlocked it.
She found any print unlocked the phone.
Lisa, from Castleford, West Yorks, said: "Anyone can access it and could get into the financial apps and transfer funds."
She got husband Wes, 34, to try and both his thumbs were also able to open the phone through the gel cover.
"It's a real concern," Lisa said, "We called Samsung because we thought there was a fault with the phone."
Samsung was quick to respond.
According to Reuters, Samsung said on Thursday that it's aware of the issue and will roll out a fix "soon."
The company claims that the issue stems from the fingerprint scanner recognizing a pattern on the silicone phone case along with the fingerprint.
It's unclear which phones are affected, but given that the S10, S10+ and the Note 10 all use an in-display, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, it's quite possible that all these devices suffer from the same issue.
This is not the first issue with Samsung phones' ultrasonic fingerprint scanners. In April, it was discovered that they can be fooled with a 3D-printed fingerprint.
And even if you've never used a case on your Samsung phone, the issue is still worrying.
"Weโre investigating this internally. We recommend all customers to use Samsung authorised accessories, specifically designed for Samsung products," a Samsung spokesperson told The Sun.
The Galaxy S10 series phones were released in March. They have an in-display sensor that uses ultrasound to detect the ridges of fingerprints, which Samsung has touted as a โrevolutionaryโ biometric authentication feature.
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