As is often the case with many of the innovations it introduces Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), on your devices, from the moment it was entered into the iPhone 5s the fingerprint readers (under the name of touch ID) We have started them on many other devices (they are even beginning to reach Android tablets) and it seems that we are still going to see them in more (images have appeared, for example, of supposed Xperia Z5 that already include it as well). It seems, however, that those of Cupertino continue to have some advantage in the efficiency with which the technology has been implemented, since it has now been discovered that in some Android devices it allows the steal user fingerprints.
A security upgrade?
The news came from two researchers who have been analyzing the implementation of this technology in mobile devices and who have discovered, quite simply, that it is possible to access the device remotely. fingerprint reader of smartphones and tablets and copy the footprints of the user. The point is that it is not equally easy on all devices: while the encryption used by the touch ID makes it much more difficult to copy the image even if they manage to access the reader, in the Android devices examined (HTC One Max and Galaxy S5) can be achieved much more easily.
The irony about this unfortunate discovery is that it is a technology that should increase the fullfilment of security requirements of the devices and that, on the contrary, could put them at an even greater risk than if they did not use it, since the problem is not that the barrier can also be overcome and access our device, but that, unlike what happens with a simple password, we cannot change our fingerprints, so we can continue to take advantage of its use indefinitely (in addition to its applications going much further than unlocking certain functions of our smartphone and tablet).
Manufacturers have already got to work
Although the news is quite worrying, it seems that the problem should be solved now since after concluding their investigation, these security experts contacted the manufacturers to communicate the results to them and they have reacted quickly with patches that should have solved the problem, so, yes, if you have one of these potentially vulnerable devices, it is best to make sure that you are not missing any security update to install.
Source: zdnet.com