3D masks fool payment, airport facial recognition systems 

Researchers in China found that facial recognition technology can be fooled by using a 3D-printed mask depicting a different person's face, raising questions about the security of the technology.

AI development company Kneron researchers used 2D and 3D copies of a subject’s face, as well as a 3D face mask, to test the strength of facial recognition security solutions at public transport portals, point of sales terminals, airport security checkpoints, and on mobile devices, in China and the Netherlands.

They discovered that most systems were able to resist the 2D and 3D copies, but the 3D mask was able to trick payment a system at a border checkpoint in China and a passport-control gate at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.

Forbes reporter Thomas Brewster commissioned a 3D printed model of his own head to test the facial unlocking systems on a range of Apple and Android phones, finding that only iPhone X models were able to resist the attack.