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Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

peternixey.com

51–60 of 64 posts

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#51
Keep in mind this fingerprint scanner is only shipping on ONE of the two devices announced today. For this to be the payments/security game-changer the OP is suggesting, it has to be widely available to the public, which Apple opted out of by not including it on the "value" iPhone 5c.

Until every mobile device Apple ships has this built in, I think this falls a bit more in the category of a novelty... at least for the foreseeable future.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#52
post #15
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once your fingerprint is compromised, you can never rely on it again.

But you have ten fingers...

So over the years of use I have to remember which ones have been compromised? Unlocking the iPhone with the ring finger of my off hand defeats the whole point of the convenience this is supposed to bring.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#53
post #30
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sensor is epi-dermal, which means reads underneath the skin, so it does not solely rely on seeing the prints. There is a steel ring, which probably senses capacitance. Will there be exploits? Probably. Are Apple engineers incompetent to think of obvious exploits? I would put my money on NO. In any case, I would like to see the evolution of this tech.

"Are Apple engineers incompetent to think of obvious exploits? I would put my money on NO." They certainly didn't seem to test whether a phone would get acceptable reception if held in a rather common way.

this likely came out of their purchase of AuthenTec last year.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#54
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once your fingerprint is compromised, you can never rely on it again.

Who says you have to actually use your finger? Why not something disposable you keep on your keychain/ring/necklace/tie/earlobe that looks like a finger to the reader?

I just imagined a world where everyone is carrying around lopped off digits on their keyrings.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#55

I can't believe it took this long and it was left to Apple to "innovate" on this. Adding a fingerprint scanner to every keyboard and mouse has been a no-brainer for at least a decade. The scanners cost $10! And adding them to smartphone and tablets should have happened from the get go. We're talking orders of magnitude in simplification of security. And its dead obvious. So what the hell took so long? And why does it…

Maybe Apple finally figured out how to make it not suck [1] and could implement it in a manner that instantly has millions of devices/accounts so building it into your app (if an API is offered) could be a feasible auth method?

Are fingerprint scanners a commodity? Apple purchasing $300M of IP, and retooling their production process seems to indicate that it's not as simply as gluing a $10 part onto your product.

[1] http://gizmodo.com/how-the-iphone-5ss-fingerprint-scanner-wo...

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#56
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sensor is epi-dermal, which means reads underneath the skin, so it does not solely rely on seeing the prints. There is a steel ring, which probably senses capacitance. Will there be exploits? Probably. Are Apple engineers incompetent to think of obvious exploits? I would put my money on NO. In any case, I would like to see the evolution of this tech.

A few years ago, some students from my local university went around to all of the fingerprint solution companies that were exhibiting at the CeBIT fair. All of the products that the respective companies agreed to be challenged were in fact fooled by something that originated as a fingerprint on a drinking glass.

Iphone will be out soon, pretty sure hacking/fooling fingerprint sensor is top priority for lot of people. So we will see if this common methods works on not.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#57
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sensor is epi-dermal, which means reads underneath the skin, so it does not solely rely on seeing the prints. There is a steel ring, which probably senses capacitance. Will there be exploits? Probably. Are Apple engineers incompetent to think of obvious exploits? I would put my money on NO. In any case, I would like to see the evolution of this tech.

The prefix "epi" means above or on top. Perhaps you're thinking of "hypodermal," which means underneath the skin.

True. It should be sub-dermal, but I do not know the workings of sensor and epidermal was mentioned on Apple's slide.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#58
post #34
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sensor is epi-dermal, which means reads underneath the skin, so it does not solely rely on seeing the prints. There is a steel ring, which probably senses capacitance. Will there be exploits? Probably. Are Apple engineers incompetent to think of obvious exploits? I would put my money on NO. In any case, I would like to see the evolution of this tech.

AFAIK capacitance of your skin can change very frequently and rapidly. Drink too little for two days -> skin dry -> resistance goes up steeply. Even using a touchpad for an hour might dry your skin up (sidenote: I sometimes even have to moisten my fingers so my MBP touchpad registers my touches well).

Thank you for this information. Forgot that capacitance varies and depends on variety of factors. I was speculating about the steel ring.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#59
post #21
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been watching this space like a hawk for years now. How did I miss the iBeacon?

wwdc 2013, they're in iOS7 which was not yet released - hence to real applications and just a few examples of hardware

So, after studying this for the last four hours, I've come to the conclusion that Apple is NEVER going to implement NFC, and in fact is trying to intentionally nosedive the technology into the ground, as a way of hurting the competition by all the time and effort they threw into a dead end technology.

Re: Apple's fingerprint scanner may be the biggest leap in payments since the C-Card

#60
I can type my password quicker than I can get a fingerprint reader to work. I dont get it really. I dont want one password for every site on the internet - which is what a fingerprint would be.

I had a fingerprint reader on my last leptop and it was a novelty. Apple inventing stuff that has already been invented since the mp3 player - but unfortunately getting massive amounts oof uptake.

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