Biometrics and parts from the dead

Reading through my New Scientist this week I see that there has been concern about dead parts being used to spoof fingerprint scanners. Severed fingers and fingers removed corpses can be used to enter secure facilities, steal cars or log on to computers.

I did mention this in the book Cold Suspenders, and alluded to the first reported case in March 2005, when thieves stole a biometrics-activated Mercedes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Attackers forced Mr Kumaran to put his finger on the security panel to start the vehicle, bundled him into the back seat and drove off.  But having stripped the car, the thieves became frustrated when they wanted to restart it. They found they could not bypass the immobiliser, which needed the owner's fingerprint to disarm it. They cut off the end of his index finger with a machete, stripped Mr Kumaran naked and left him by the side of the road.

The New Scientist reports that researchers at Dermalog Identification Systems in Hamburg, Germany, have developed a way for a fingerprint scanner to differentiate between live and dead tissue. It is based on the way living tissue "blanches" - or changes colour - when blood is squeezed out of capillaries, for example as a fingertip is pressed against a reading machine.

Fake fingerprints can be also created by imprinting copies in rubbery gels or silicone plastic. There is a suggestion that a valid user can leave an greasy print on a reader, thereby allowing a subsequent user to gain access by putting his finger near enough to the reader to activate it. That may have been one of the problems at Glenochil Prison.

See: 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128225.100-fingerprint-scanner-to-spot-the-living-dead.html?

Can any system ever be totally secure?
Does more technology actually create more problems?

Myself or my Id? A Short Story from the Future

Darcy mooched in the shop doorway, glumly scanning the street and nearby store for money wallets. The only interesting thing his RFID scanner had picked up was a young lady wearing expensive designer clothes, with what appeared to cheap jewellery. He watched the scanner as people moved about the street hoping for unguarded ID that he could filch.
He moved, peering into the store. Someone had started a monetary transaction. His modified Travinetter caught the identifying keys of the transaction, and flashed up that they were stored along with the target’s ID signatures.  He activated the Travinetter, inserting his biometric data in place of the targets, but keeping the bank account references. It would be a simple matter to enter the store, and buy an item with the replicated ID.
The interesting young lady passed him again. He checked, and rechecked his Travinetter. The jewellery she was wearing looked similar, but was transmitting the ID of a much more expensive make. Intrigued, he decided to follow the lady. Perhaps she would perform the trick again?
As they approached the outskirts of the town, the lady turned around and smiled at him. He stopped, and then realised that someone was holding on to him from behind. The smile got bigger. A Cheshire cat he thought. “Scan him” she commanded, pointing over his shoulder. Darcy scanned the man who was gripping him. The results made him look twice. “Well” the lady demanded.
“Not well at all.” Darcy replied. “IDINFO is there, but the person is dead?”
Darcy felt something penetrate his skin, and a sharp pain. The body behind him spoke. “You like nicking ID mate?” Darcy could see the world turning dark. The body spoke again. “Well, I do too. I nicked the wrong one last time, but I think this is the last time you nick an ID.”
Darcy’s grip on the world receded. He felt he was leaving his body, or was it his Id leaving his body? The new Darcy kissed his companion, feeling a boost to his ego as he did so.