Once again, Samsung quickly responded to the latest issue that its iris recognition system can be fooled. Earlier this week, we shared with you CCC’s findings that they were able to fool the Galaxy S8 with a dummy eye. Samsung said it is not really easy to fool the system. In a short statement sent to The Korea Herald, Samsung explained why it is difficult to do so. It’s not as simple as it appears because the system requires a number of things like a camera with infrared light.
Samsung said, “Although the one-minute video (that shows the sensor being fooled with a dummy eye) appears simple, it is hard to see that happening in real life.” The rep further added, “You need a camera that can capture infrared light (used in the video), which is no longer available in the market. Also, you need to take a photo of the owner’s iris and steal his smartphone. It is difficult for the whole scenario to happen in reality.”
The CCC (Chaos Computer Club) managed to break into the S8’s iris (or so the group claimed). A video was shared on YouTube and obviously, it reached the Samsung executives. The group of hackers said they made a copy of an eye by using a photo of an iris, a printer, and a pair of contact lenses. The camera used was able to capture infrared light. The image was then printed using a Samsung printer. The curve of the eye was mimicked by simply placing the contact lends on top of the photo.
Samsung’s use of the iris scanner is mainly for authentication. It’s being used for Samsung Pay now and as a biometric system, it is one safe way to keep a phone locked. Meanwhile, CCC is saying that the traditional PIN code approach for protection is safer than this iris scanner for authentication.
Samsung is firm that the iris patterns are “virtually impossible to replicate”. We believe Samsung but we also know they don’t know everything. We agree that replacating such is not realistic but it may be possible.
VIA: The Korea Herald
