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> fingerprints have the unfortunate property of not being rotatable if compromised Coworker has a wonderful term for this. He calls fingertips "amputationware"
by bostik 10y ago
> fingerprints have the unfortunate property of not being rotatable if compromised
Coworker has a wonderful term for this. He calls fingertips "amputationware". It really drives the point home.
But there is another very good reason to avoid fingerprints auth methods. The scanners are by design doing some level of fuzzy matching, so if/when[0] someone finds a way to generate an input that reproduces the signal pattern from the reader well enough, it can be fooled. (Yep, done already.)
My personal take on fingerprint authentication is that they are not passwords. They are usernames.
0: http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-releases/2017/04/10/so-you-think-you-can-secure-your-mobile-phone-fingerprint http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-releases/2017/04/10/so-you-...
- Eridrus 10y agoFingerprints can certainly be "amputationware" if you refuse to give up your passcode and your threat model has a credible threat of amputations. For most people, having their unlocked phone snatched out of their hands on the street[0] is a far more credible threat and somehow we don't have everyone saying you shouldn't unlock your phone outside. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/2/13819288/uk-police-encryption-mugging-seized-phone-scotland-yard https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/2/13819288/uk-police-encryp...
- xellisx 10y agoYeah - I was going to saw something about people with extreme eczema suffers (Which I happen to be one), can have issues with skin just splitting open on tips of the fingers. This is the reason I don't use my finger print scanner on my phone...
- Ntrails 10y agoHow does it compare to the Vein scanning auth tools in terms of efficacy? Obviously the non rotable issue remains (although less viable to amputation auth)
- tdist 10y agoDo note however, that masterprints are not applicable for all current solutions.[1] Their statement is of course biased, but they nevertheless point out a significant flaw in the referenced study. [1]: https://corporate.fingerprints.com/en/newsroom/faq-regarding-fingerprints-information-disclosure-and-product-launches/current-questions-answers/ https://corporate.fingerprints.com/en/newsroom/faq-regarding...