Hackers can theoretically extract fingerprints from photos posted online, but cybersecurity experts say the risk remains extremely low for most people and should not overshadow more common cyber threats, reports CBS News.

Recent concerns about fingerprint theft from social media images have circulated online as advances in artificial intelligence and image-processing technology make it easier to analyze photographs.

But experts say the scenario remains largely impractical for everyday cybercriminals.

“While it is possible for fingerprints to be pulled from a photo, the risk is low for the average person,” said Justin Cappos, a professor and cybersecurity expert at New York University whose research has been adopted by companies including Google and Palantir.

“You have a better chance of being hit by a car tomorrow than this happening to you in your lifetime,” Cappos said.

Researchers have long known that fingerprints can sometimes be reconstructed from high-quality images.

However, doing so requires clear, high-resolution photographs and a significant amount of effort, according to experts.

“This sounds like the stuff out of spy novels or ‘Mission Impossible,’” said Vyas Sekar, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

“In theory, it’s possible, especially if people are posting high resolution images,” he said.

Even then, successfully extracting a usable fingerprint would likely require a motivated attacker targeting a specific individual rather than conducting a broad cybercrime campaign, Sekar said.

A hacker would need to be “fairly determined” and would likely focus on a “high-value target” whose fingerprint could provide access to a secure facility or sensitive systems, he said.

For the average social media user, experts say more traditional cyber threats remain far more pressing.

Cappos said phishing scams, in which criminals trick victims into clicking malicious links or surrendering personal information through fraudulent emails and websites, continue to pose a much greater danger.

“People should worry much more about someone stealing their password or tricking them into giving up personal information than someone extracting their fingerprint from a photo,” he said.

While experts do not rule out the possibility that future technological advances could make fingerprint extraction easier, they say there is little evidence that cybercriminals are currently using the tactic on a meaningful scale.

“I don’t think cyber criminals have started to try to weaponize it at any scale,” Cappos said. “Ten years from now, who knows if the landscape has shifted and cyber criminals are using this as an attack vector or something.

“But definitely, where we are today, this is not going to happen,” Cappos said.