On Friday the iPhone 5s will be out on the street, and with it, Apple’s fingerprint scanning technology. There are still some concerns about how Apple is implementing and managing fingerprint authentication, but as long as the iPhone 5s doesn’t fumble completely, the new smartphone could finally spur mainstream adoption of the technology.
As Apple revealed a couple of weeks ago, the home button on the new iPhone 5s is also a fingerprint scanner. Rather than using a passcode, you can now unlock the device just by holding your finger on the home button.
The iPhone 5s isn’t the first mobile device with a fingerprint scanner. The Motorola Atrix included fingerprint authentication back in 2011. Apparently, even Motorola forgot about the Atrix, though, because it had the audacity to send out a tweet slamming the idea of using a fingerprint with a mobile device.
Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Lumension believes that the iPhone 5s fingerprint authentication could prove to be a game changer. “There are two factors that will determine the real success of this new feature, which has undeniable potential,” he says. “First, reliability and second, security—though as a security researcher, I have to say it should really be security first.”
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