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June 1, 2026 / 8:46 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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One of the latest culprits of online panic has arrived in the form of a peace sign selfie.Social media posts claiming that hackers can extract fingerprints from photo subjects flashing peace signs online and enhance them using artificial intelligence have garnered thousands of likes and sparked anxiety for some."Just end AI already!" wrote one Instagram user, whose comment received more than 16,000 likes. "It's clearly a threat to humanity and not here to help regular people." Another Instagram user lamented that they will have to change how they take their selfies.Experts say that's probably not necessary. While it is possible for fingerprints to be pulled from a photo, the risk is low for the average person."You have a better chance of being hit by a car tomorrow than this happening to you in your lifetime," said Justin Cappos, a New York University professor and cybersecurity expert whose research has been adopted by companies like Google and Palantir.Many of the social media posts appear to have stemmed from an April segment on a Chinese television show featuring an expert who showed how taking a peace sign selfie with your fingerprints visible within a few feet of the camera could allow cybercriminals to digitally extract them. If hackers are successful in extracting a fingerprint, they could potentially use it to breach sensitive accounts that use fingerprints for access. Unlike passwords, biometric data can't be changed.
