Apple’s new iPhone could breathe new life into fingerprint security

13 years ago

“Apple Inc.’s latest product launch could breathe new life into a technology that failed to take hold the first time: fingerprint scanners,” Danny Yadron reports for The Wall Street Journal.

“Placing a finger on a computer or smartphone has long been proposed as a way to avoid the need for passwords to authenticate users of computers and other devices,” Yadron reports. “People familiar with the matter said last week that Apple will include a fingerprint scanner on the more expensive of two iPhones it is expected to unveil Tuesday at an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.”

Yadron reports, “Because of Apple’s influence, other companies are likely to follow… In theory, scanning a user’s finger could be a very fast way to unlock a phone or authorize a payment—and unlike a password, impossible for an unauthorized person to crack by guessing or trying different combinations. A scanner on a smartphone could also be used to safeguard corporate networks, acting much like security tokens made by RSA and others that generate sequences of numbers to be used with passwords, Mr. Kempskie said. A corporate customer could enter his password and then be required to scan his thumb on his iPhone, using an RSA app, for example, to verify his identity, he said.”

“They could also be used for physical security. August, a San Francisco startup, plans to ship a deadbolt lock add-on—the device fits on an existing lock—later this year that allows users to unlock their front doors with their smartphones. The company will likely allow customers to use their fingerprint as an additional form of verification, said Jason Johnson, its chief executive,” Yadron reports. “It remains unclear whether Apple will let outside developers employ the fingerprint scanner in apps, if at all.”

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