Samsung Electronics announced late Friday that the tech giant will update its software due to potential security breaches in flagship smartphone models Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, S10 5G and Note 10 next week.

The announcement was made in response to recent reports of a case in the United Kingdom in which a user claimed that when her Galaxy S10 screen was covered with a silicon protective case, the device was unlocked with someone else’s fingerprint. 

The issue involved ultrasonic fingerprint sensors that are designed to unlock the latest Galaxy devices.

Co-developed by Samsung and Qualcomm, the ultrasonic fingerprint recognition technology was adopted for the 10th anniversary Galaxy phones this year for the first time.

Samsung was the first in the world to feature the in-display fingerprint scanning technology.

“To prevent any further issues, we advise that Galaxy Note10/10+ and S10/S10+/S10 5G users who use such covers to remove the cover, delete all previous fingerprints and newly register their fingerprints,” Samsung said in a statement. “If you currently use front screen protective covers, to ensure optimum fingerprint scanning, please refrain from using this cover until your device has been updated with a new software patch.”

Samsung acknowledged that the sensors could falsely recognize the patterns of some silicon cases as those of fingerprints, fueling concerns about the security of its newest identity verification technology.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)