BANGALORE: According to Black Hat security researchers, smartphone buyers can now reconsider buying phones with a fingerprint sensor.

Black Hat Security Conference left the viewers feeling exposed and vulnerable as the researchers came out with their new discovery, reports ZDNet. Researchers Tao Wei and Yulong Zhang pointed out the flaws of the Android smartphones stating that it might be easier to hack the fingerprint sensors on Android devices than Apple’s Touch ID.

The researchers disclosed about the malware attack that might hack fingerprint-authenticated payment systems. However, ‘fingerprint sensor spying attack’ can pose as one of the worst attacks where hacker remotely lifts prints leaving the data exposed for misuse.

The fingerprint being guarded by the ‘system’ privilege in the place root makes the situation worse. This makes things easier for hackers. This fingerprint hacking could result in identity theft accessing data from connected devices to authentication systems.

"In this attack, victims' fingerprint data directly fall into attacker's hand. For the rest of the victim's life, the attacker can keep using the fingerprint data to do other malicious things," Zhang said. As stated, Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One Max are the most vulnerable examples of this case. On the other hand,  iPhone and other Touch ID devices are relatively safer compared to the previously mentioned smartphones.

Although there exists a direct access to the fingerprint sensor of Apple device, yet data is still secured with a crypto key in the device.

The affected vendors have been provided with patches for the loophole and customers have been advised to update their devices.  

Read More: 'Unhackable' Turing Phone Now Available for Pre-Order

Five Most Expected Features On The Galaxy Note 5