5 ms·

If you're using that as your sole authentication mechanism, then you're not encrypting your data with a password. It's already game over. These kinds of things

If you're using that as your sole authentication mechanism, then you're not encrypting your data with a password. It's already game over. These kinds of things of 'security'* features can't be considered protection for the valuable data on your computer, or the e-commerce account you're currently signed in on. This stuff is for preventing Steven from making a funny Facebook post in your name (he'll find a way anyways). *roughly the same level of 'security' a "beware fluffy the furry menace" sign on your garden fence provides.

dchest 5y ago
Facial and fingerprint authentication is the most successful and practical security feature protecting billions of computers which would have been unprotected otherwise. It should not be dismissed like that, and I’m glad the work is being done to find and fix vulnerabilities.
- baybal2 5y ago
  And it compromises equally as much by providing a false sense of security
- rasz 5y ago
  >successful and practical In marketing sense. You leave your fingerprints all over the keyboard, and I can record your face freely.
wonnage 5y ago
I can think of many major security breaches related to poor or leaked passwords and honestly none come to mind with faked biometrics. Not to say that there aren't any, but passwords have a terrible security history and everyone should be glad that they're slowly becoming just another factor rather than the sole gatekeeper.
SilverRed 5y ago
The problem is that Apple does facial recognition and does it in a semi secure way which builds trust in the technology. Then microsoft and samsung jam in the feature without any of the security considerations and ride off the trust Apple built in it. It's completely outrageous that MS thought it was acceptable to do facial recognition using a basic webcam.
- f1refly 5y ago
  Maybe it's just completely outrageous that people still think Microsoft or Samsung care about them in any way?
- stinos 5y ago
  Can you explain why Apple's implementation is semi secure and others' implementations aren't? All of them have been bypassed at one point or another IIRC but that's probably not what you mean? (also: if it's semi secure then being able to build trust based on that means the other part is PR I guess, outrageous as well?)
  - quenix 5y ago
    A few thoughts: Apple's Face ID takes a 2-dimensional infrared image of your face as well as projects 30,000 IR dots to form a 3D depth map of the face. It feeds this into a NN in a separate Secure Enclave processor to determine whether the face is attentive and authorised. I believe they also implement specific NNs just to perform anti-spoofing, both physical and digital. This is contrasted to Samsung and Microsoft's solutions which take a picture and try to match it. Apple's Platform Security Guide on Face & Touch ID [0] is an interesting read. [0]: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec067eb0c9e/web https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec067eb0c9e/...
    - mavhc 5y ago
      iPhone X(box Kinect) Still nowhere near as secure as they make out though
      - user-the-name 5y ago
        What vulnerabilities are you referring to?
        mavhc 5y ago
        If you have relatives that look like you the chance goes down from one in a million. And they're also the most likely people to have access to your phone, and by interested in what's on it. Also the younger you are the less likely it is to differentiate.
Sander_Marechal 5y ago
Biometrics should equate usernames, not passwords

dchest 5y ago

Facial and fingerprint authentication is the most successful and practical security feature protecting billions of computers which would have been unprotected otherwise. It should not be dismissed like that, and I’m glad the work is being done to find and fix vulnerabilities.

baybal2 5y ago
And it compromises equally as much by providing a false sense of security
rasz 5y ago
>successful and practical In marketing sense. You leave your fingerprints all over the keyboard, and I can record your face freely.

wonnage 5y ago

I can think of many major security breaches related to poor or leaked passwords and honestly none come to mind with faked biometrics. Not to say that there aren't any, but passwords have a terrible security history and everyone should be glad that they're slowly becoming just another factor rather than the sole gatekeeper.

SilverRed 5y ago

The problem is that Apple does facial recognition and does it in a semi secure way which builds trust in the technology. Then microsoft and samsung jam in the feature without any of the security considerations and ride off the trust Apple built in it. It's completely outrageous that MS thought it was acceptable to do facial recognition using a basic webcam.

f1refly 5y ago
Maybe it's just completely outrageous that people still think Microsoft or Samsung care about them in any way?
stinos 5y ago
Can you explain why Apple's implementation is semi secure and others' implementations aren't? All of them have been bypassed at one point or another IIRC but that's probably not what you mean? (also: if it's semi secure then being able to build trust based on that means the other part is PR I guess, outrageous as well?)
- quenix 5y ago
  A few thoughts: Apple's Face ID takes a 2-dimensional infrared image of your face as well as projects 30,000 IR dots to form a 3D depth map of the face. It feeds this into a NN in a separate Secure Enclave processor to determine whether the face is attentive and authorised. I believe they also implement specific NNs just to perform anti-spoofing, both physical and digital. This is contrasted to Samsung and Microsoft's solutions which take a picture and try to match it. Apple's Platform Security Guide on Face & Touch ID [0] is an interesting read. [0]: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec067eb0c9e/web https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec067eb0c9e/...
  - mavhc 5y ago
    iPhone X(box Kinect) Still nowhere near as secure as they make out though
    - user-the-name 5y ago
      What vulnerabilities are you referring to?
      - mavhc 5y ago
        If you have relatives that look like you the chance goes down from one in a million. And they're also the most likely people to have access to your phone, and by interested in what's on it. Also the younger you are the less likely it is to differentiate.

Sander_Marechal 5y ago

Biometrics should equate usernames, not passwords