Creating a 3D replica of someone’s hand, complete with all five fingerprints, and breaking into a secure vault may not be as farfetched as once thought—and may represent an emerging security risk.

Michigan State University's Biometrics Research Group, led by Anil Jain, professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, was studying how to test and calibrate fingerprint scanners commonly used across the globe at police departments, airport immigration counters, banks and amusement parks. Without a standard life-like 3D model with which to test the scanners, there was no consistent and repeatable way to determine the accuracy of the scans and establish which scanners work best.

Insert image here: So to test the scanners, the team created life-size 3D hand models with fingerprints using a high-resolution 3D printer capable of producing the same ridges and valleys as a real finger.

“This is the first time a whole-hand 3D target has been created to calibrate fingerprint scanners," says Jain. "As a byproduct of this research, we realized a fake 3D hand, essentially a spoof, with someone’s fingerprints could potentially allow a crook to steal the person’s identity to break into a vault, contaminate a crime scene or enter the country illegally."

An application of this technology, then, will be to evaluate the spoof resistance of commercial fingerprint scanners. Jain says that the burden to design spoof-resistant systems will be on scanner manufacturers.

“We are very pleased with this research and how it is showing the uncertainties in the process and what it can mean for the accuracy of the readers,” says study co-author Nicholas Paulter, group leader for the Security Technologies Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is funding the research. “The FBI, CIA, military and manufacturers will all be interested in this project.”