iPhone X, Biometric Security and Privacy

Tech savvy people are very excited about iPhone X. The smartphone is having Face ID with 3D face sensing and authentication technology. It unlocks the phone with 3D face recognition. It doesn't unlock the phone with a color picture of the face. So you need to be physically present to unlock the phone. That is a good advantage of biometric authentication. But how much secure is your biometric signature? Can it be hacked? Several questions remain.

How much secure is iPhone X with 3D face ID?

People are very happy, because iPhone X is secure with 3D face recognition. It does not unlock the phone with 2D color image of the human face. Apple gave assurance that the phone learns to recognize with and without beard, varied haircuts. But if you have gone too much change in your facial appearance, the phone may fail to recognize.

Can the phone unlock with masked faces?

Extensive reviews are available with mask and heavy makeups. The reviews say that the phone can't unlock with the eyes closed. To unlock one need to close and open the eyes once. That probably serves as a liveness test for the face.

I guess a 3D printed Face model may be able to work

One may use quality 3D shape sensing technology and 3D print the 3D face models. The 3D face models with blinking eyes similar to superior quality dolls may be able to unlock the phone. The blinking eyes may pass the liveness test and unlock the phone.

But there remains some privacy concerns

Apple replied to the question raised regarding security and privacy by an US senator last month. They said that the Face IDs will be securely stored with encryption to protect privacy of the customers' data. If the data are hacked, like earlier data hacks, will the data be safe at the hands of the hackers? Is the privacy protection good enough to save the hacked data from unauthorized use?

Privacy protection of biometrics is most essential

Biometric security system can survive only if the biometric data are privacy protected. It requires a multimodal and multilevel biometric authentication as well as privacy protection. It may take a little bit of more computational processing but it will yield robust security for the precious personal and financial data.

"Are biometric security systems, like on the iPhone X, as good as you think?"

This week I am privileged to be featured on the 375th Podcast of LinkedIn Top Tech Voice Neil Hughes. Listen to our discussion on "The Inconvenient Truth About Biometric Security and Privacy Protection".

My Blog Page

Here are some other posts I authored:

• Data Protection is a Big Challenge
• Want an Artificial Sun Light?
• Glasses-Free 3D is a Visual Treat for Our Eyes
• The Machine is the Future of Computing
• Why GNU/Linux is not Accepted by the Academic Community
• Unix-like Operating Systems are Safer to Malware and Virus Attacks
• Why Google and Microsoft Run after Glass and Lens?
• Best Solution to Software Virus
• Need 15 Tips to Eat a Biscuit?

In June 2015, Dr. Jeffrey Strickland and I founded a new LinkedIn Group called "The Unfluencers". To learn about the history of "The Unfluencers" please read the seminal LinkedIn article by Dr. Jeffrey Strickland entitled -- "Who are the Unfluencers". This group is an open group. You are welcome to join this group and engage yourself in the discussions. The Unfluencer?? Logo is a registered trademark of Dr. Jeffrey Strickland.

Text Copyright ? 2017 Debesh Choudhury— All Rights Reserved 

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Debesh Choudhury is an academician and researcher. He is interested in the science and engineering of optics and electronics. He uses GNU/Linux, Free and Open Source Software for all his works related to computers, be it educational or entertainment, professional or personal.

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