Samsung Galaxy S10 comes out with major security flaw; fixes promised soon

The Galaxy S10 released this year is one of Samsung’s top selling phones. The phone possesses everything tech enthusiasts need, making the phone a fan favourite.

From a true full-view screen, premium build quality, long-lasting battery, Knox security, camera quality, appealing design, and powerhouse processor and an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is every phone owner’s dream.

Qualcomm security is considered to be superior technology with advanced features. It is also considered to be a level above Vivo or OnePlus branding of phones. This is because they mainly use the sound to map the unique ridges of the finger for more accuracy.

Samsung employed Qualcomm’s ultrasonic 3D in screen fingerprint sensor to provide its users, unmatched security. The company, very confidently claimed that this new technology makes the phones almost impossible to crack. The impression was given that it is near impossible to fake a person’s fingerprint with a 2D model.

However, reports have begun to circulating in which claims have been made stating that the fingerprint scanner has a serious flaw within it and due to that, anyone can unlock the screen. There are also reports which stipulate that the sensor can no longer differentiate between finger impressions.

This was first noticed by a British couple, Lisa and Wes Neilson. Lisa who owned a brand new Galaxy S20 had added a thumb impression on her phone from her right thumb, however, after purchasing a third-party screen protector from e-bay, she accidently touched her left thumb to the sensor and it unlocked the phone without any issue. In order to test her theory, she asked her husband to try unlocking the phone with his fingerprint and to her shock, it unlocked.

Lisa later reported this information to a UK based news agency and the report went viral all over Europe. After taking note of the issue, Samsung responded to the security flaw and have promised a security patch which, after its launch, will successfully deal with this issue.

According to an official statement by Samsung, “Samsung Electronics is aware of the case of the S10's malfunctioning fingerprint recognition and will soon issue a software patch,"

The company has also released a claim stating that Samsung users should only purchase screen protectors which have been approved and authorised by Samsung, officially and refrain from purchasing any third party branded screen protectors for their own privacy.