It has been found that anyone's thumbprint can unlock Samsung Galaxy S10 phone with a screen protector.
With this, Samsung is investigating the issue and has promised to fix the flaw.
Our Eum Ji-young has more.
The new biometric authentication system used by Samsung's latest Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 might have a critical flaw.
The devices have an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor that is supposed to keep them secure.
However, there are claims that if a device is fitted with a screen protector, it is unable to discriminate between different fingerprints.
The problem was first discovered by a U.K. couple when the husband was able to unlock the wife's phone with his fingerprint according to a report by U.K. newspaper the Sun.
The couple told the Sun that it was a real concern as the same thing happened when the screen protector was added to another relative's phone.
Apparently, when a particular silicon-cover screen protector, which costs about three U.S. dollars, is applied to the phone, it can fool the fingerprint sensor.
This can lead to anybody's fingers being able to bypass what Samsung had called a 'revolutionary' authentication system.
This issue raises security worries for millions of users worldwide because if Samsung's fingerprint ID system is enabled, it not only allows users to open their phones and access information but also make payments through banking apps on the phone with their fingerprints.
Samsung acknowledged the problem and said in a statement that it is working to fix the problem.
It promised to come up with a software patch soon to fix the problem and advised customers to only use official Samsung screen protectors.
There have been previous reports that suggest some screen covers are not compatible with Samsung's sensor because they leave a small air gap that interferes with the scanning.
Eum Ji-young Arirang News.