This worrying scenario envisions the remote capture of a smartphone user’s fingerprints

It is technically possible to remotely collect information that allows the fingerprint of someone using a touch screen to be reconstructed. — AFP Relaxnews

Computer security researchers have uncovered a novel fingerprint recognition technique, based on the sounds made by a finger on a touchscreen. If combined with malicious software, this could one day expose users to biometric data theft.

PrintListener is the term given to a new technique revealed by a team of researchers based in the US and China. It exploits the sound of finger friction on a touchscreen to extract the patterns of the corresponding fingerprint.