How to Foil a Fingerprint Scanner

Biometrics is becoming more popular in government as a security tool. Using digital fingerprints is a favored biometric because of its supposed infallibility â€" a belief that this video from the Discovery Channel show "MythBusters" proves to be misplaced.

In it, two innovative hackers manage to foil a door lock that doesn't use a key but rather an individual's fingerprint to identify those who are allowed access. The average person would have trouble replicating the hackers' methods, but they also use a low-tech method to gain access. They manage to lift the fingerprints of someone who has access to the fingerprint door lock by handing him a plastic CD case, and then retrieving the case and lifting the fingerprint. (For those of you who think the show gives hackers a "how to" manual on lifting fingerprints to break into laptop computers and door locks, the MythBusters producers inform viewers that they left out "one crucial step.")

Hat tip: ha.ckers.org