Samsung's Smartphone Palm Print Scan Is More Secure Than Fingerprints
Samsung patents smartphone palm biometrics.
When it comes to unlocking your smartphone and validating that it is you, there are already plenty of options for the security-minded user. You could opt for a PIN number, although, as has just been reported, there's a long list of codes that are dangerous to use. Passwords are a bit more cumbersome than PINs, and if you take the easy-to-recall and enter option, then you're probably already on another list to be avoided at all costs. Ha, I hear you say, I use biometrics, so I don't have any security worries or numbers to remember or avoid. Your fingerprint isn't as safe as you likely think, and Samsung is already exploring more secure biometric options, as a new patent for a smartphone palm print recognition system demonstrates. Here's what you need to know.
Truth be told, biometrics are a secure and easy-to-use method of validating identity when it comes to unlocking a device, such as your smartphone, regardless of whether you are an iPhone or Android aficionado with a preference for facial or fingerprint recognition. There are, of course, plenty of ways that either can be bypassed by a very determined attacker, but they mostly involve having access to both you and the smartphone in question. Let's discuss some of the more ingenious methods, rather than photos of your face, chopped-off fingers or 3D prints constructed from high-resolution photography. None of which represents much in the way of clear and present danger to the average user, to be honest.
In 2018 it was reported that researchers had created a technique called DeepMasterPrints for using machine-learning to create masterkeys containing partial fingerprint images to unlock devices. I can't recall ever hearing of this being exploited in the wild, so I'm guessing we're safe. Then there is brute-forcing fingerprint recognition using a framework called BrutePrint. This was more recent, 2023, but again has amounted to nothing in terms of real-world attacks.
So, while faces and fingerprints are good enough, the search for something better is always ongoing. Samsung is spearheading that search with the filing of a European patent for a smartphone-based palm print recognition system. As reported May 25, somewhat ironically, by the excellent people over at Patently Apple, the Samsung patent points to a future where your Galaxy smartphone might use the camera module, along with specialized processors and memory, to obtain 'at least three feature coordinates from a palm image,' to be used together with rotation angles to scan your hand.
Palm recognition is generally considered more secure than fingerprint recognition as it covers a broader area and looks deeper than just the surface skin. Most palm print recognition systems scan the patterns of veins under the surface, making them much harder to replicate than your fingerprint or face.
I have asked Samsung for further information regarding plans to incorporate the plam print recognition system in future Galaxy device releases.
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