First iPhone Fingerprint Reader Hacker Could Win Cash, Booze

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irish_adam

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This would involve me buying a 5S and as i refuse to buy anything apple it wont be happening anytime soon. I hope someone does though and really soon just so i can lol at the arrogance
 

rhangman

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Be interesting to see if it is possible to lift the print from the phone itself. Mythbusters did fingerprint scanners some time back the method they used would be a good start.
 

ap3x

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Given that they are reading sub dermal this might be harder than most think. Another thing to point out is that Apple is not actually taking the finger print itself but rather line break points in the print. Should be interesting to see what happens since their is a monetary reward for the efforts.

Chances are that they are going to try intercept and copy the data transmission of whatever validation occurs once the finger is put on the phone rather then tricking the finger print reader itself or accessing the data storage.

If this manages to pass for the most part then this will be great for Apple. My guess is that they have pretty big plans for this technology in the future so they could use the information that comes out of this as either a validation of their implementation or a way to fix issues in it before they move forward.
 

ap3x

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John, You do realize that the iPhone 5s fingerprint reader is sub dermal right? It is actually a capacitance reader. The outer layer where your finger print is non-conductive, the sub-dermal layer is actually conductive. So the iPhone's biometric sensor is actually reading the differences in conductivity to create the print. You won't be able to bypass it with just a lifted print like the Myth Buster guy's did.

Also, keep in mind that the outer ring is used to let the sensor know to activate. It may also be emitting a small current to make the capacitance clearer to read. This would also explain why it works even when your finger is placed on the button in a different position. This is something that a traditional finger print reader would have a hard time with. So unless you can imitate how you fingers pass current you are going to be out of luck.

At some point you guys should just give them a little credit. The way they have engineered this thing is pretty solid. The hackers are probably just going to focus on the data transmission rather then trying to fake out the reader itself.

Also keep in mind that the dust and lift approach to bypass Biometric security is pretty old school. There have been allot of advancements since then.
 

rwinches

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How to crack an iPhone - Guaranteed!

Wait till the iSchmuck isn't looking, then grab the iPhone and throw it with all your might at the nearest hard surface.

Bitcoins accepted.
 

flong777

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1. "These men and women believed that anyone willing to lift fingerprints from a surface and reproduce the prints on a sufficiently pliable material could bypass the new iPhone's fingerprint-scanning authentication system."

Ummm NO! The sensor is designed to only read living tissue according to professional reviews I have read.

This is the fourth negative Apple artile I have read today on Tom's Hardware and all of them are poorly researched and poorly written.

Ask yourself, what the hell is the point of this article - no smartphone security system is unbreakable or perfect. If the fingerprint security is not perfect, I am still willing to bet that it is the best in the business. I am also willing to bet it is much better than a four-digit security code which of course is the hallmark of smartphone security.
 
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