Be careful Android users as Android Phones Fingerprint scanner can be hacked remotely
Many of us may boast of having a fingerprint scanner on our high-end devices, but there is some bad news for you guys. FireEye researchers Wei Tao and Yulong Zhang have revealed that Android Phones Fingerprint scanner can be hacked remotely.
Usually we think that biometric passwords are enough to secure a device. But, in a presentation at the Black Hat USA Conference 2015, which took place in Las Vegas from August 1 to 6, security researchers have demonstrated several security flaws in the software of the fingerprint scanner system in the Android OS. Researchers demonstrated that Android Phones Fingerprint scanner can be hacked remotely.
The tests were performed on the HTC One Max and the Samsung Galaxy S5, but researchers said that all phones using the Android OS are potentially vulnerable to this flaw. The manufacturers have already been notified, and they have also released the security patches.
Android Phones Fingerprint scanner can be hacked remotely, but is the problem limited to mobile devices only?
Tao Wei and Zhang Yulong, however, stated that the problem may not be limited to Android devices or to the mobile platform; the problem could also affect the high-end laptops that are equipped with fingerprint scanners. The Touch ID system used by Apple devices is however more secured than Android devices as access to these data on Apple devices requires encrypted keys.
Do you would think that user is safe in case of mobile payments, where the hacker must have the device in his hands in order to confirm the transaction?
The Android Phones Fingerprint scanner can be hacked remotely and this type of flaw can prove very dangerous for mobile payments. But again, FireEye researchers explain that flaws in the fingerprint scanner for Android devices allow the diversion of mobile payments protected by fingerprints.