Researchers bypass fingerprint sensor in Samsung Galaxy S5

SRLabs researchers have released a new video demonstrating why fingerprints are not fit for secure device unlocking.

Fingerprint sensors on smartphones are certainly big step forward. But, are they good enough? Back in September last year, German researchers managed to crack the protection around Apple's fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S. Researchers used "fake fingerprint", which could be put onto a thin film and used with a real finger to unlock the device. And now, the fingerprint sensor on Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 has been cracked with the very same trick.

Germany-based SRLabs has released a video demonstrating the trick. Researchers used a “wood glue spoof”, made from mould of a fingerprint smudge left on smartphone screen. According to SRLabs, the fingerprint sensor in the S5 is more shoddy than what was found in the IPhone5S.

Apple needs a password after every reboot before users can unlock their iPhone 5s with fingerprint scanner. The phone also needs a password after certain number of failed attempts with fingerprint scanner.

However, the Galaxy S5 allows users to make unlimited attempts to unlock the device with fingerprint scanner. Moreover, rebooting doesn't lock the fingerprint scanning feature. Researchers showed how the Galaxy S5 fingerprint hack could allow hackers to access the PayPal app on the phone.