That Didn't Take Long: Hackers Outsmart Apple's Touch ID
by Joe White
September 22, 2013
Hackers are said to have already outsmarted Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner, which launched with the iPhone 5s on Friday.
The group, Chaos Computer Club (CCC), claims to have created a method of bypassing a fingerprint-locked iPhone handset "using easy everyday means." In essence, the process involves "simply photographing a fingerprint left behind on a surface and then creating a glue model of it," The Verge notes.
One of the hackers, Starbug, explained:
In reality, Apple's sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake.Apple has promoted the security of Touch ID, which requires a living fingerprint and reads the unblemished skin underneath a finger's outer layer. However, CCC's new method, which is outlined in the below video, appears to undermine Apple's claims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM8b8d8kSNQ&feature=player_embedded
If you can't see the above video, please click this link.
Apple has not yet commented on the matter, though we'll be sure to let you know if this changes. In the meantime, see: The New York Police Department Says: Download iOS 7, Now! , Today's Best Apps: Shadow Vamp And Flint, and Is The Fifth-Gen iPod touch Compatible With The iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Docks?.