Play-Doh beats fingerprint scanners

It appears everyone's favorite non-toxic molding compound from our youth is sufficient to beat most biometric scanners. Personally, I prefer to use the homemade peanut-butter formula that a friend's mother used to make when I was little.

"Biometric systems automatically measure the unique physiological or behavioral ‘signature' of an individual, from which a decision can be made to either authenticate or determine that individual's identity," explained Stephanie C. Schuckers, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clarkson University. "Today, biometric systems are popping up everywhere – in places like hospitals, banks, even college residence halls – to authorize or deny access to medical files, financial accounts, or restricted or private areas."
"And as with any identification or security system," Schuckers adds, "biometric devices are prone to ‘spoofing' or attacks designed to defeat them."
Spoofing is the process by which individuals overcome a system through an introduction of a fake sample. "Digits from cadavers and fake fingers molded from plastic, or even something as simple as Play-Doh or gelatin, can potentially be misread as authentic," she explains.

I can see it now. The newest toy tie-in for Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible 3