iPhone Fingerprint Scanner Hacking Possible Along With Apple iPhone 5S NFC?
iPhone fingerprint scanner hacking is already being discussed and the Apple iPhone 5S release date is not even here yet.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Apple iPhone 5S has a fingerprint sensor among its many rumored features. Never mind the iPhone 6 rumors.
The Apple iPhone 5S launch event is being held today and you can watch it live. Apple’s iOS 7 will also be discussed, and iOS 7 on the iPhone 5S will supposedly look different from the older iPhones. But other iPhone 5S rumors on the fingerprint sensor already are claiming the iPhone fingerprint scanner won’t be capable of making payments at retail locations.
Merchants are already allowing smartphones to make purchases at many retail locations. It’s possible to use Paypal instead of a credit card and some will even allow a smartphone’s Near Field Communications (NFC) for transactions. The iPhone 5S NFC will supposedly be featured on the home button alongside the iPhone fingerprint scanner.
But Android NFC implementations have known security flaws still being worked out so it’s probably a good thing the iPhone fingerprint scanner can’t be used for making purchases. Apple bought out the fingerprint scanning company AuthenTec for $350 million and thus it can be assumed the iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner will have all of AuthenTec’s security features. Still, the thought iPhone fingerprint scanner hacking should make anyone pause.
Wired magazine points out that iPhone fingerprint scanner hacking could be pulled off with the same methods used to fool all other biometrics systems. Rubber fingers and photo scanned fingerprints could potentially fool the system, although a good fingerprint scanner would check for pores, pulse, and finger temperature.
The good news is that the iPhone 5S will still have the traditional PIN password as a fallback. Better, the iPhone fingerprint scanner system has a processor and storage separate from the iPhone 5S CPU, meaning it should be more difficult to hack.
The second question is what will the iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner be used for. If it’s simply limited to unlocking an iPhone then that’s probably a good thing. But if it could be used to make purchases and unlock financial accounts and iCloud then the damage potential for a iPhone fingerprint scanner hack is enormous.
Are you worried about Apple iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner hacking?
