New iPhone 6 fingerprint sensor fooled on day one (but don’t panic)

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Touch ID as you know it could be about to change.
Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 6 has been out for less than a day and already would-be hackers are suggesting that its Touch ID fingerprint sensor can be tricked — thanks to a lifted fingerprint and some latex.

The video, posted to YouTube by Security Research Labs, comes with a description noting that, “Although it was shown immediately that the previous iPhone model’s Touch ID could not stand up to rudimentary attacks, the same technology has been included again in the iPhone 6 without any improvement whatsoever.”

There have been numerous demos showing Apple’s Touch ID sensor being beaten over the past year, although it’s always been impossible to shake the argument that it would surely be easier for a thief to force a person to unlock their iPhone than it would be to surreptitiously lift a fingerprint and then replicate it with latex. Touch ID may not be infallible, but it’s a whole lot better than a four-digit security code.

What’s different about this year’s Touch ID is the fact that it is now tied into Apple Pay — as well as third-party app authentication — thereby greatly increasing the incentive for hackers to attack it.

In the lead-up to iPhone 6 launch it was reported that Apple’s 2014 refresh of Touch ID would focus on internal modifications designed to make the fingerprint-scanning hardware more durable and secure.

While Apple’s fingerprint sensor has already been beaten, though, don’t worry: this kind of crack may be reproducible in the lab, but it’s going to be next to impossible to replicate in the real world. You’re far more likely to be robbed by a mugger than you are to have a beautiful woman lift your fingerprints of a martini glass. Sadly.

The video can be seen below:

Via: Apfeleimer.de

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