Flashing a peace sign in a photo could lead to identity theft

www.DPReview.com ^ | Jan 17, 2017 | Lars Rehm

[fso301]

The National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan claims that taking and publishing photos of subjects who are flashing the popular two-fingered 'V' or peace sign could lead to identify theft. It warns that fingerprint recognition technology is now so advanced that even casual snapshots can be used to retrieve fingerprint information. The report also says the technology is widely available and easy to use.

[fso301]

Fake news.

No way are lighting levels sufficient to illuminate whorls on the finger in any normal photo.

The article was in a respected photography website, not the New York Times.

[John S Mosby]

The so-called “peace” sign is not a peace sign. It became popular from W. Churchill’s use of the “V” for Victory sign— adjusted for American/western views as a “V”.... but which,in reality was a clever re-use (for internal British propaganda purposes) the quite old sign of “two fingers”.

The cultural history on this sign comes from the aftermath Battle of Agincourt in 1415 in which Henry V of England with a very small army, defeated France’s heavy cavalry of mounted knights— defeated them with archers using the famed English Longbow. Raining down clouds of high velocity, armor piercing- pointed arrows, killing large numbers of the French. That, and tons of mud bogging the French horse and men.

So where did the “two fingers” sign come from? Archers were hated in chivalry days- as being “not honorable, or knightly”. If captured, an English archer had his bowstring fingers (either left or right handed bowstring pulling fingers) cut off by the French ... so they could never fire an arrow again.

The gesture, holding up the first two fingers, with back of the hand facing outwards (and doubly adding a “Roman” up yours motion) was one used by the victorious English archers at Agincourt to taunt the remaining few French lords— “we still have our bow fingers....@ssh@les” (like Nathaniel Greenes’ men “mooning” who was stranded across the Dan River at South Boston—the American Patriots having taken all the boats to the other side of the wide river).

Churchill reversed the hand, towards people, in the US (but is photographed not doing this in the UK, notably!!) to make it a palatable understandable “V” for Victory. And of course, the Vichy French, being anti-English, also “got the message”- we’re coming for you. Churchill was a bright cookie sometimes.

[metmom]

That’s OK.

But you do know that the day is coming when that will be possible.

I don’t put much out of the reach of technology any more.

[John S Mosby]

That should read ...”(like Nathaniel Greene’s men “mooning” Brit General Cornwallis, who was stranded across the Dan River at South Boston, VA.... “

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Thanks for that well-written post concerning the two-finger gesture.