> Checking for a fingerprint match essentially means that the administrator of the device is present and authorises the action
No it means only that the fingerprints are present. Your finger can be cut or you might be forced to unlock the device.
No it means only that the fingerprints are present. Your finger can be cut or you might be forced to unlock the device.
The gist is, a password and a fingerprint are not the same thing. Fingerprint is not a weaker password or anything like that, they have different properties and as a result they have different pros and cons. For example, no one can copy your fingerprint by looking over your shoulder - unlike a password.
How common is this scenario? I imagine it is a lot less common than passwords getting stolen or cracked.
Contrary to how some people here are acting, most people aren't targets of foreign foreign espionage.
You can also be forced to reveal or enter the password.
I remember reading about one school which implemented "live finger" readers.
How did kids hack it?
Polymer clay and a gummy bear.
Put your finger on clay and wait for it to dry. You will have your permanent mirrored fingerprint.
When required fingerprint press gummy bear against clay and then against the reader. As gummy bear holds charge, can even be cut thin etc. there is little chance to detect that it is not a real skin.
The biometric system (sensor + algorithm) used by Apple, as well as other competitive biometric vendors, detect blood flow, pulse in the finger. This is done as a mitigation against fake fingers as well as the (always presented) gory "cut off the finger" attack scenario.
A gummy bear may be lifelike, but normally lacks a beating heart and circulatory system.
“Normally”?