This news from Japan is not really boosting trust in airport security measures not only in that country but also in the USA: Japanese media are today reporting that a South Korean woman entered Nippon last April passing through the biometric immigration screening despite her previous deportation records.
Her trick: She went through the screening by placing her index fingers over a fingerprint reader after putting a special tape on the fingers. The woman claims she received the tape and a fake passport from a “broker” back in South Korea where she was deported to in July 2007 after working in Japan as a bar hostess.
Following the US, Japan began the biometric immigration screening in November 2007 as part of an antiterrorism measure. All foreigners aged 16 and up have to undergo fingerprinting and photographing at airports nationwide to see if their data match those of deported or wanted foreigners and terrorists.
This is the first time that such an incident was reported. When the system launched in Japan, problems were reduced to computer glitches and some difficulties because of “dry skin”.
The special tape used by the South Korean woman had someone else’s fingerprints on. The Japanese government said it’s now forced to review its antiterrorism measures at airports.
thank you for sharing.
The MythBusters gang pulled this off on a episode last year as well.
Apparently, beating fingerprint scanners is easier than using the Captain Crunch decoder ring to get free long distance calls.
As a professional in this field – there are few types of sensors. The ones that are in use in the airports are “optical” sensors, which are quite easy to spoof – due to the fact that it is kind of a ‘camera’ that capture the image of the finger. one can easily use a high resolution image (paper) and spoof it. When you have a guard that looks at you – it is not that easy…
other types are silicon sensors with capacitive / RF based sensors that creates an image out of a ‘live’ finger, and these sensors are MUCH harder to be spoofed. They will be used in logical access applications (e.g. windows logon)
the U.S. uses an epassport tracking system that involves a contactless smart card in the back of the passport booklet. like japan, it uses some biometrics. there is a copy of the passport photograph and that is considered the same. it is considered to be the safest method because it cannot be altered and has to be read by a special incriptor.
hey every one u can pass the sensor just changing ur fingerprints in brazil or indonessia. price only 500 usd.
regards
tt