U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has garnered a reputation of questioning privacy implications for not only his constituents but for Americans across the country. With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Franken wrote a letter to the company's executives regarding the smartphone's fingerprint scanner.

Sen. Franken's letter consist of 13 questions he hopes Samsung answers in order to provide a better understanding in the company's methods to secure sensitive biometric information such as fingerprints.

According to Franken, the security benefits from fingerprint technology are "not as clear" as many would expect. He noted the positives of the fingerprint sensor, such as the easier method to swipe a finger than tap a complicated password. Yet, fingerprints are "public and permanent" while passwords can be changed in a "minute or two."

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"Fingerprints are the opposite of secret. You leave them on countless objects that you touch throughout the day: your car door, a glass of water, even the screen of your smartphone," Franken said in his letter to Samsung. "And unlike passwords, fingerprints cannot be changed. If hackers get hold of a digital copy of your fingerprint, they could use it to impersonate you for the rest of your life, particularly as more and more technologies start relying on fingerprint authentication."

Franken's questions are not a basis to target Samsung as the senator previously issued the same inquiries to Apple when the company launched the iPhone 5s and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor last September. The senator, however, added that reports have suggests the Galaxy S5 may have security concerns not featured in Apple's Touch ID. Franken noted the Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner provides unlimited authentication attempts without a password prompt while Apple requires a password following five failed attempts. He also addressed the Galaxy S5's presence on any apps that require a fingerprint scanner instead of a password.

"This means that you can use the Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner to send money on PayPal and access your password app; unfortunately, it likely means that bad actors who spoof your fingerprints can do that, too," Franken added. "This broader access to the scanner could potentially allow third parties to access sensitive information generated by the technology."

The 13 questions to Samsung include: How exactly does Samsung secure the fingerprint data generated by the Galaxy S5's fingerprint scanner? Is it possible to convert locally stored fingerprint data into a digital or visual format that can be used by third parties? What are Samsung's future plans for fingerprint scanning technology? Will it deploy the technology on its tablet devices, as news reports suggest? Can Samsung assure its users that it will never share their fingerprint data, along with tools or other information necessary to extract or manipulate the Galaxy S5 fingerprint data, with any commercial third party?

Franken reassured he's not discouraging the adoption of fingerprint technology on mobile devices as it can be both "convenient and beneficial" if given the "strong safeguards."

Franken asked Samsung answer the questions within a month of receiving the letter. Franken's letter was addressed to Samsung Electronics Co. CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon and Samsung Electronics North America CEO Gregory Lee.

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