Even Your Biometrics Data is Vulnerable

­Turns out absolutely nothing is un-hackable.

We tend to think of biometrics data — fingerprints, facial scans, etc — as sacrosanct. Untouchable. As close to secure as humanly possible.

After all, our fingerprints are unique to us. You can’t really “guess” biometrics data like you can your mom’s “password” password.

But according to NordVPN, even biometrics can be compromised — the company found 81,000 stolen fingerprints on dark web forums.

According to Adrianus Warmenhoven, with NordVPN, "all recorded data is hackable... biometric information a valuable target for cybercriminals, and hacking of this type of data becomes a popular way of identity theft."

And unlike passwords, which can be reset, we can’t change our biometrics data (not yet, anyway), which could make you permanently compromised.

Amongst the 20 different types of biometric data, the most popular targets include fingerprints, face, and voice. Many of you probably use those exact items to unlock your phone or sign documents.

Criminals can repurpose the same items used to steal credit card data — skimmers — to capture someone’s fingerprints from ATMs and payment terminals, amongst other highly-trafficked devices.

Moreover, deep fake technology (and simply stealing a target’s photos) can be used to build a convincing facsimile of your biometrics data.

“While we are the owners of our own faces and voices, we are not the only ones with access to them,” Warmenhoven said. “Over the years of being active social media users, people left so much biometric data that with the current capabilities of artificial intelligence to create deepfakes, it becomes a weapon against our privacy."

Storing your biometrics data in the cloud can make it even more vulnerable to a breach.

Unfortunately, the best defense — for the moment — is to simply be wary of who or what you grant access to your biometrics.