Financial Express reports scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can synthesise fake human fingerprints and potentially fool biometric authentication systems. Fingerprint authentication systems are a widely trusted, ubiquitous form of biometric authentication, deployed on billions of smartphones and other devices worldwide. However, researchers from New York University (NYU) in the US revealed a surprising level of vulnerability in these systems. Using a neural network, they evolved a fake fingerprint that could fool biometric authentication for one in five people. Partial fingerprints are less likely to be unique than full prints, and Memon’s work demonstrated that enough similarities exist between partial prints to create MasterPrints capable of matching many stored partials in a database.