Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods, and devices for testing the security of a facial recognition system (FRS). A target image depicting a target person enrolled in the FRS and a tester image depicting a tester may be obtained. A plurality of transformed images may be generated from an image of the target person or the tester image. A processed tester image (e.g., one that is likely to cause the FRS to misclassify) may be identified using the plurality of transformed images, the tester image, and the target image. Data representing a light pattern can be generated using the processed tester image and the light pattern can be projected onto a second person. Another image may be captured of the second person with the light pattern as projected. This image may be provided to the FRS and a remedial action may be performed based on the corresponding output.