Fingerprints can be reproduced from publicly available photos by Kif Leswing.
From the post:
At a conference in Hamberg Germany this weekend, biometrics researcher Jan Krisller demonstrated how he spoofed a politician’s fingerprint using photos taken by a “standard photo camera.”
Krissler speculated that politicians might even want to “wear gloves when talking in public.”
…
Krissler claims he isolated German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen’s fingerprint from high-resolution photos taken during a public appearance in October using commercially available software called VeriFinger.
I’m not sure that politicians have enough access to critical infrastructure for them to bother wearing gloves in public. 😉 Or at least they shouldn’t have that kind of access.
This isn’t an issue in Texas because the driver license bureau collects fingerprints from everyone who applies for or renews a drivers license. (Watchdog: Driver’s license centers snatch your fingerprints)
Fingerprints of bank tellers, network security experts, nuclear power plant operators, sysadmins and similar folks who have access to critical infrastructure. Much easier to call a friend at the DMV than trying to scrap a print from a photograph. Where does your state collect fingerprints?
The more worrisome aspect is that children aren’t reluctant to show their hands and touch things constantly in public. Anyone gathering children’s fingerprints under a variety of guises will eventually have a database of people who do have access to critical infrastructure.
That may sound like monitoring all the Web traffic in the world, something we would have laughed about a decade ago. No one is laughing about that now.
PS: What combination of factors will you require for identification?