The Samsung Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner is susceptible to the same lock hack as the iPhone 5S at launch.
A team over at Germany’s SRLabs has discovered that the Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner can be foiled by the same fancy fake rubber finger tactic.
In fact, the team didn’t even have to make a brand new mould, they just used the same one they created to show how to bypass the iPhone 5S TouchID sensor.
Before you get too worried, the actual bypass isn’t that easy or quick to pull off. You’ll need to be quite skilled to create the rubber mould from a copy of the original fingerprint.
If someone actually does this to you, you might have bigger fish to worry about, but the fact that it can be done is slightly worrying.
For the Samsung Galaxy S5 owners, this fingerprint hack could be a little more damaging. With the iPhone 5S, you can unlock your phone and authenticate App Store payments using your fingerprint, but Samsung’s fingerprint tech extends to PayPal payments too.
Of course, the fact that someone has unlocked your phone without your permission means they’ve got access to all your emails, contacts and other personal information kept on your smartphone.
This just proves that although a fingerprint password is better than none at all, it isn’t fool proof or entirely secure.
Both the original iPhone 5S fingerprint fakeout video and the new version with the Galaxy S5 are included below so you can see how it all works.
Read more: Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner vs iPhone 5S Touch ID
Via: TechCrunch
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
