Fake Fingerprint Stickers Let You Access a Protected Phone While Wearing Gloves (gizmodo.com)

A new Kickstarter campaign aims to sell you fingerprint stickers that, when applied to a pair of gloves, allow you to unlock a mobile device that's protected with a fingerprint scanner. The sticker is powered by Nanotips and is "made with an extremely adhesive conductive material that can be applied to any surface for touch capability." Gizmodo reports: You can of course still access a fingerprint-secured smartphone using regular touchscreen-friendly gloves by simply punching in your passcode on-screen, but why should we have to give up the convenience of a feature like Touch ID for months on end just because it's cold outside? We shouldn't, and these Taps stickers will allow you to use your mobile device's touchscreen and fingerprint reader, for unlocking your phone or making a purchase, even while your actual fingers (and fingerprints) are being kept warm and toasty inside a glove. After applying a textured stick to the tip of your glove, you just have to register it as an approved fingerprint using your smartphone's security settings. You might assume this would mean that anyone with a Taps sticker on their gloves could access anyone else's protected phone. But according to its creators, using nanoparticle technology every single Taps sticker has an individual and unique artificial print ensuring that only your gloves can access your device. That being said, there is still the risk of someone stealing your gloves, which is easier than stealing your fingerprints, so you'll have to weigh the security risks introduced versus the added convenience these offer.

Comments

Re: pick one: convenience, privacy

[Ol Olsoc]

Or, they could just take the data out of the phone, put it into a special OS shell that doesn't have the lockout feature, and rip through all 10000 four digit codes in the time wasted between keystrokes in this reply.

Or, or, and or. I'd be the last person to argue for or against any so called security features on a phone. I do not consider anything about a phone to be secure at all ever. So if I were to be doing something illegal, I sure as hell wouldn't put it on my phone.

The whole thing is people demanding an inherently non-secure device to be secure. It's like buying a billboard, putting something classified on it, or kiddie porn, and demanding that people not see what is on it because you demand your right to privacy.

It simply is not secure.