Google's Pixel 6a smartphone fingerprint scanner malfunctioned, allowing an unregistered person to unlock the device multiple times using their own fingerprint.
Google released the Pixel 6a smartphone in July 2022 with an in-display fingerprint scanner for device security. The phone uses Google's Tensor chip and costs $449. A user reported that their friend Pavlo was able to unlock their locked Pixel 6a by placing his finger on the fingerprint scanner area, despite his fingerprint not being registered in the device. This occurred multiple times in front of witnesses. Other users have reported similar issues online, with YouTube videos demonstrating that unregistered fingerprints could unlock Pixel 6a devices. Google stated that their under-display fingerprint sensor was tested to meet industry standards with a probability of unverified fingerprint match of 1 in 50,000 attempts, similar to Apple's Touch ID technology. Google recommended users ensure they are running the latest Android 13 version and noted they continually make improvements to fingerprint performance. The incident raises security concerns as both consumers and corporate workers expect their devices to remain private and not allow inadvertent access to unauthorized users.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Vulnerabilities that can be exploited in AI systems, software development toolchains, and hardware, resulting in unauthorized access, data and privacy breaches, or system manipulation causing unsafe outputs or behavior.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed