4 ms·

Why Apple Bought AuthenTec: It Needed NFC Fingerprint Sensors, Quickly

32 points by rkudeshi 14y ago

PanMan 14y ago
I don't believe at all that Apple was still developing hardware features in July on the iPhone which will ship this fall, only a few months later. After buying some mapping companies, it took them over a year before they released their first product which included maps. Integrating new, never seen, hardware components in the iPhone sounds harder, not easier, than generating maps (something that is possible with fully open software). I'm sure Apple has plans with the company they bought, but I'm certain we won't see them before 2013.
- freehunter 14y ago
  Especially considering Authentec apparently still hadn't completed their product as of the end of July. Apple's not in the business of releasing last-minute, untested hardware just to meet a deadline. Apple's never been bleeding edge on their mobile hardware. History shows us they're satisfied with incremental improvements based on time-tested hardware. The only way I see this being true is if the timeline is incorrect in the article and Apple/Authentec were working on integrating it into the iPhone/iPad long before the deal was close to closing.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- jfb 14y ago
  Yes. There's no way this has anything to do with even next year's phone, I'd wager.
- jdlshore 14y ago
  Another possibility could be that Apple has developed some key feature that infringes an Authentec patent, and only realized it recently.
  - roc 14y ago
    Or that they had developed some features based on an Authentec license that they only recently decided to make into differentiation points by buying Authentec and thus making it more difficult for competitors to keep/catch up.
  - startupfounder 14y ago
    More likely that this is a defensive move then a last minute reaction. They want to own the patent, control it and box out their competitors from the authentication side of NFC.
  - CountSessine 14y ago
    Yet another possibility is that they have a feature in the new iPhone that possibly infringes on a Google or Samsung patent, and they want to buy Authentec's patent portfolio as ammunition in cross-licensing negotiations.
lnanek2 14y ago
I have mixed feelings about AuthenTec fingerprint scanners in Apple products. One on hand, I had an IBM keyboard with a scanner and it was terrible. Rarely worked right, often took 3 or more swipes, was just easier to enter my password. On the other hand, if any company would make sure the product actually works before putting it in, it's Apple. I also absolutely hate how often Apple prompts me for my password. I think I was playing a game on my iPhone the other day and I had to enter my password like 5 times over. Don't remember exactly, but it was something like once to "buy" it even though it had been bought on another device, another time to login to GameCenter or something, a couple other times to buy some coins or something. Very annoying. So if they insist on checking password so often, this is something they desperately need - and need to get working better than past hardware.
roc 14y ago
> "If AuthenTec was developing a technology for Apple’s new products, would the deal need to have been completed “quickly” if it wasn’t going to be used in devices launching later this year" Isn't presenting and cultivating a sense of urgency one of the older and more well-understood of sales strategies? By proposing a tight deadline Apple could simply have been trying to narrow Authentic's perceived options down to "negotiate with Apple on final price" rather than "fish for competitive bids". Similarly the change of focus from sale back to licensing may have been designed to rattle Authentec's negotiators. A traditional sale, upon finding a due diligence concern, simply waits until the concern is resolved. Apple's switching focus back to licensing is consistent with trying to emotionally rattle Authentec's negotiators, who likely considered the sale 'all but done' at that point and dissuade Authentec shareholders from further dickering over price, as it presents Apple as perfectly willing to walk away from the sale.
pc86 14y ago
I have one big problem with fingerprint authentication (really, any sort of biometric authentication). If I lose my password I can reset it. If I give out my password, either accidentally or under duress, I can change it. If someone wants something so badly as to copy (or take) a fingerprint, there's no way for me to "change" that password.
- duaneb 14y ago
  You can change fingerprints easily (if painfully); face and retina recognition, not so much.
- danudey 14y ago
  Fingerprint sensors are also often worse than useless, for the false sense of security they provide. Hopefully the ones Apple's planning on using (if any) are better than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAfAVGES-Yc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAfAVGES-Yc c.f. Android's face recognition unlock being fooled with photos of people.
- rogerbinns 14y ago
  Lenovo Thinkpads have (optionally) Authentec sensors. The way it works is that the fingerprints are stored in the sensor itself. Also stored is a password (or equivalent). Swiping the appropriate finger then makes the password available. Consequently you can either provide the password or the fingerprint. It really is just a shortcut to providing the password. (Note that all other sensor manufacturers are effectively just a cheap scanner - the image processing and "authentication" are all done in the host software.) On the most recent Thinkpads you can swipe your finger to power on the device, get past the password protected BIOS, unlock ATA password locked drives, boot and login to Windows. (Or you can enter your password 3 times.) The sensor requires a swipe unlike large form sensors where you effectively leave your fingerprint behind. This is definitely an improvement. Fingerprint data can also be loaded for use outside of the boot process, such as an "Enterprise" where you want to manage multiple systems and allow centrally managed logins. Authentec also makes client software that keeps your passwords (think ones stored by the browser) in a vault with access controlled by fingerprint or master password. In this whole scenario fingerprints can be revoked by deleting them from the sensor or management software. However you only have ten prints before you run out. You can be observed unknowingly so passwords can also be compromised just like with latent fingerprints. It is up to someone to decide if the security tradeoffs of the Authentec scanner are acceptable. For the record I do use it on my laptop. But I'm actually a Linux user so I can only it for BIOS power on and ATA drive unlock, but not Linux authentication. Authentec do not document their protocols or provide evidence of their security. Small subsets have been reverse engineered (see libfprint).
fuzzythinker 14y ago
I'll say it's for future ipads for palm rejection and ipad mini's thumb rejection.
- taligent 14y ago
  Possibly but doubt it. Not enough of a major selling point. My guess is multi user support and not just for iPads, iPhones but also for the upcoming Apple TV remote. It would be integrated either into the home button or possibly a swipe up from the bottom lip.
  - fuzzythinker 14y ago
    Interesting thought! It's a very Apple way to handle user auth, no need for a switch user/login screen.

32 points by rkudeshi 14y ago

I don't believe at all that Apple was still developing hardware features in July on the iPhone which will ship this fall, only a few months later. After buying some mapping companies, it took them over a year before they released their first product which included maps. Integrating new, never seen, hardware components in the iPhone sounds harder, not easier, than generating maps (something that is possible with fully open software). I'm sure Apple has plans with the company they bought, but I'm certain we won't see them before 2013.

freehunter 14y ago
Especially considering Authentec apparently still hadn't completed their product as of the end of July. Apple's not in the business of releasing last-minute, untested hardware just to meet a deadline. Apple's never been bleeding edge on their mobile hardware. History shows us they're satisfied with incremental improvements based on time-tested hardware. The only way I see this being true is if the timeline is incorrect in the article and Apple/Authentec were working on integrating it into the iPhone/iPad long before the deal was close to closing.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
jfb 14y ago
Yes. There's no way this has anything to do with even next year's phone, I'd wager.
jdlshore 14y ago
Another possibility could be that Apple has developed some key feature that infringes an Authentec patent, and only realized it recently.
- roc 14y ago
  Or that they had developed some features based on an Authentec license that they only recently decided to make into differentiation points by buying Authentec and thus making it more difficult for competitors to keep/catch up.
- startupfounder 14y ago
  More likely that this is a defensive move then a last minute reaction. They want to own the patent, control it and box out their competitors from the authentication side of NFC.
- CountSessine 14y ago
  Yet another possibility is that they have a feature in the new iPhone that possibly infringes on a Google or Samsung patent, and they want to buy Authentec's patent portfolio as ammunition in cross-licensing negotiations.

lnanek2 14y ago

I have mixed feelings about AuthenTec fingerprint scanners in Apple products. One on hand, I had an IBM keyboard with a scanner and it was terrible. Rarely worked right, often took 3 or more swipes, was just easier to enter my password. On the other hand, if any company would make sure the product actually works before putting it in, it's Apple. I also absolutely hate how often Apple prompts me for my password. I think I was playing a game on my iPhone the other day and I had to enter my password like 5 times over. Don't remember exactly, but it was something like once to "buy" it even though it had been bought on another device, another time to login to GameCenter or something, a couple other times to buy some coins or something. Very annoying. So if they insist on checking password so often, this is something they desperately need - and need to get working better than past hardware.

roc 14y ago

> "If AuthenTec was developing a technology for Apple’s new products, would the deal need to have been completed “quickly” if it wasn’t going to be used in devices launching later this year" Isn't presenting and cultivating a sense of urgency one of the older and more well-understood of sales strategies? By proposing a tight deadline Apple could simply have been trying to narrow Authentic's perceived options down to "negotiate with Apple on final price" rather than "fish for competitive bids". Similarly the change of focus from sale back to licensing may have been designed to rattle Authentec's negotiators. A traditional sale, upon finding a due diligence concern, simply waits until the concern is resolved. Apple's switching focus back to licensing is consistent with trying to emotionally rattle Authentec's negotiators, who likely considered the sale 'all but done' at that point and dissuade Authentec shareholders from further dickering over price, as it presents Apple as perfectly willing to walk away from the sale.

pc86 14y ago

I have one big problem with fingerprint authentication (really, any sort of biometric authentication). If I lose my password I can reset it. If I give out my password, either accidentally or under duress, I can change it. If someone wants something so badly as to copy (or take) a fingerprint, there's no way for me to "change" that password.

duaneb 14y ago
You can change fingerprints easily (if painfully); face and retina recognition, not so much.
danudey 14y ago
Fingerprint sensors are also often worse than useless, for the false sense of security they provide. Hopefully the ones Apple's planning on using (if any) are better than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAfAVGES-Yc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAfAVGES-Yc c.f. Android's face recognition unlock being fooled with photos of people.
rogerbinns 14y ago
Lenovo Thinkpads have (optionally) Authentec sensors. The way it works is that the fingerprints are stored in the sensor itself. Also stored is a password (or equivalent). Swiping the appropriate finger then makes the password available. Consequently you can either provide the password or the fingerprint. It really is just a shortcut to providing the password. (Note that all other sensor manufacturers are effectively just a cheap scanner - the image processing and "authentication" are all done in the host software.) On the most recent Thinkpads you can swipe your finger to power on the device, get past the password protected BIOS, unlock ATA password locked drives, boot and login to Windows. (Or you can enter your password 3 times.) The sensor requires a swipe unlike large form sensors where you effectively leave your fingerprint behind. This is definitely an improvement. Fingerprint data can also be loaded for use outside of the boot process, such as an "Enterprise" where you want to manage multiple systems and allow centrally managed logins. Authentec also makes client software that keeps your passwords (think ones stored by the browser) in a vault with access controlled by fingerprint or master password. In this whole scenario fingerprints can be revoked by deleting them from the sensor or management software. However you only have ten prints before you run out. You can be observed unknowingly so passwords can also be compromised just like with latent fingerprints. It is up to someone to decide if the security tradeoffs of the Authentec scanner are acceptable. For the record I do use it on my laptop. But I'm actually a Linux user so I can only it for BIOS power on and ATA drive unlock, but not Linux authentication. Authentec do not document their protocols or provide evidence of their security. Small subsets have been reverse engineered (see libfprint).

fuzzythinker 14y ago

I'll say it's for future ipads for palm rejection and ipad mini's thumb rejection.

taligent 14y ago
Possibly but doubt it. Not enough of a major selling point. My guess is multi user support and not just for iPads, iPhones but also for the upcoming Apple TV remote. It would be integrated either into the home button or possibly a swipe up from the bottom lip.
- fuzzythinker 14y ago
  Interesting thought! It's a very Apple way to handle user auth, no need for a switch user/login screen.