"Spoofing" is the term for overcoming a biometric recognition system (such as a fingerprint scan, an iris scan, or voice recognition) by introducing a fake sample. Designing a system that is proof against spoofing is the key to making a truly secure system.
In researching flaws in such systems with an eye toward making them safer, a Clarkson University professor and her research team found a decidedly low-tech solution for getting around fingerprint scanning: Making casts of live fingers made from dental materials and Play-Doh.
More than 60 of the faked samples were tested on standard fingerprint scanners. The results were a 90 percent false verification rate.
To improve the system, the team designed a computer algorithm that would detect perspiration patterns when reading a fingerprint image. After that improvement, less than 10 percent of the spoofed samples were able to fool the machine.
Because you know how much I love gadgets, as well as the science that makes all of them work, I suspect you may be as interested as I am in spoofing.
You may have seen spoofing at the movies, when Tom Cruise's character in the movie Minority Report had one of his eyes replaced by a back-street doctor to evade identification via an iris scan and stay one step ahead of the cops. Play-Doh is a bit lower tech, but probably also a good deal easier to obtain.
Along that same vein, stories like this one show you how easy it can be to work around technology -- think useless pills and medical procedures -- to arrive at simpler, safer and more natural solutions that can improve your health for a lifetime.