PayPal Executive Looks for Apple to Adopt Fingerprint Sensors, Lead Charge Away From Passwords

MacRumors · May 10, 2013

CIO reports on an Interop keynote presentation yesterday by PayPal chief information security officer Michael Barrett in which he discussed the future of account security and suggested that passwords and PINs will soon be a thing of the past. Barrett currently serves as president of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance that is seeking alternatives to these traditional security methods.

The FIDO Alliance protocol allows users a choice of authentication method while shifting control to providers who can make authentication user-transparent and limit the risk of fraud. Essentially, FIDO combines hardware, software and Internet services. A FIDO user will use a FIDO Authenticator or token that they've chosen or that's incorporated in their device; it could be a built-in fingerprint scanner, a USB memory drive with a password, a voice reader or something else.

In an age where increasing numbers of online accounts lead to insecure reuse of passwords and phishing scams have resulted in a number of high-profile incidents involving compromised accounts, FIDO looks to take advantage of the increasing ubiquity of electronic devices to enable more personal and direct authentication tools.

AuthenTec mobile device fingerprint sensor offered at time of Apple acquisition

Barrett noted that FIDO-enabled devices will begin appearing in the market this year, and hinted that he is looking to Apple and other smartphone manufacturers to lead the charge.

"It's widely rumored that a large technology provider in Cupertino, Calif., will come out with a phone later this year that has a fingerprint reader on it," he said. "There is going to be a fingerprint enabled phone on the market later this year. Not just one, multiple."

Apple has been rumored to be pushing to adopt fingerprint sensor technology in its devices since its acquisition of leading fingerprint security firm AuthenTec last year.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a relatively strong track record regarding Apple's product plans, has repeatedly stated that he believes this year's iPhone 5S will include a fingerprint sensor as a differentiating feature to help attract new and upgrade customers.

Article Link: PayPal Executive Looks for Apple to Adopt Fingerprint Sensors, Lead Charge Away From Passwords

gnasher729 · May 10, 2013

I wonder who the second largest technology provider in Cupertino, Calif. would be.

Ryth · May 10, 2013

Queue up the new stories blaming Apple of people getting their fingers cut off for access to their devices when they are stolen. Here come the Hollywood movie scenes...whenever people need some bio access...

Rossatron · May 10, 2013

Oh man, now I'm really excited about the new iPhone.
goodbye extremely long and complicated passwords

adildacoolset · May 10, 2013

Anyone who has viewed these forums has seen that the really negative crowd here who just views a fingerprint sensor as a gimmick. That they'd rather keep typing in passwords, which can be really annoying at times. They don't want the innovation they're crying for.

gotluck · May 10, 2013

fingerprint + typical 2 factor authentication for unrecognized devices sounds good to me!

goobot · May 10, 2013

Ryth said:
Queue up the new stories blaming Apple of people getting their fingers cut off for access to their devices when they are stolen. Here come the Hollywood movie scenes...whenever people need some bio access...

It doesn't matter, the phone doesn't work with dead fingers.

monaarts · May 10, 2013

I always just thought of the finger print sensor as being a way to unlock your phone... Never thought about swiping in place of entering a password. Genius!

NutsNGum · May 10, 2013

It'll certainly beat mashing in passwords with my bloody stumps.

ChristianVirtual · May 10, 2013

gnasher729 said:
I wonder who the second largest technology provider in Cupertino, Calif. would be.

WiPro, Amazon ... just searched for jobs in Cupertino

I really don't need a fingerprint reader ... if we need to get one I hope its integrated into the home button to spare me another button.

Did I mentioned I would preferr NFC instead ? For me more usefull.

But hey, whatever :apple:

put in the 5S I will get and live with.

dragje · May 10, 2013

Apple should ONLY accept fingerprint technology when there is 100% certainty that it works. There is simply no room for f*ckups when using these kind of technology. The last thing you would like to see on your iPhone screen when using fingerprint technology is the message: "Fingerprint recognized, but payment "dog" not accepted, please try again."

Davmeister · May 10, 2013

Sigh...I remember in 2004 when I got my first mac I could read a MR article without seeing KGI or analyst in it. I mean, I understand that it's a source of info and that's fine, but it's just not as exciting as it used to be, with every article nearly being based on their sodding opinions. Why no more elevator videos or actual...you know...rumours.

I expect to be pelted for this post...

Michael73 · May 10, 2013

I wonder how this would work for desktops or laptops? Maybe it could be built into the trackpad / magic mouse somehow?

One big downside though for a specific use-case...a lot of my friends are doctors who are using their iPads during patient rounds at the hospital. To access patient records they need to log into electronic medical record systems. Although this would be a perfect place to have a fingerprint sensor, more often than not they are wearing latex gloves.

everything-i · May 10, 2013

Ryth said:
Queue up the new stories blaming Apple of people getting their fingers cut off for access to their devices when they are stolen. Here come the Hollywood movie scenes...whenever people need some bio access...

It doesn't work by optically scanning the finger it uses capacitive sensors which won't work on dead fingers or with prints copied from a glass or anything like that.

Davmeister · May 10, 2013

Michael73 said:
I wonder how this would work for desktops or laptops? Maybe it could be built into the trackpad / magic mouse somehow?

One big downside though for a specific use-case...a lot of my friends are doctors who are using their iPads during patient rounds at the hospital. To access patient records they need to log into electronic medical record systems. Although this would be a perfect place to have a fingerprint sensor, more often than not they are wearing latex gloves.

Hmmm...they won't just have fingerprint sensors as the only login option tho. What about burns victims? People with disfigurements etc.

Also Doctors generally shouldn't be touching shiny surfaces (shared with others or not) that can harbour organisms with their gloves anyway...otherwise what's the point of wearing them. Furthermore they're unlikely to be trying to access records if they're wearing gloves, as they tend to only wear gloves during procedures, and hopefully you've read their background before diving in with whatever tool it is they're using

Nightarchaon · May 10, 2013

i actively avoid using the scamming, lying, turd of a con-artist company Paypal at all costs, if a company only takes payment via paypal i look elsewhere for my purchase.

Really don't want them embedding themselves in ANY part of iOS.

Also didn't mythbusters prove that fingerprint sensors, even the state of the art ones, can be fooled by a bit of body heat and some silicon gel ?

Davmeister · May 10, 2013

Nightarchaon said:
i actively avoid using the scamming, lying, turd of a con-artist company Paypal at all costs, if a company only takes payment via paypal i look elsewhere for my purchase.

Really don't want them embedding themselves in ANY part of iOS.

Can I ask why? I regularly use it to pay for things as well as receive money via eBay etc. Although their fees are high for receiving, I don't really see problems with paying for things?

WardC · May 10, 2013

I'm not too hyped up about all this fingerprint sensor stuff...I would rather see Apple working on voiceprint recognition and full voice navigation with their iOS and Mac OS X technologies...being able to open windows, open apps, and web surf with voice navigation...

And having the system recognize your voiceprint as your login.

I am not talking about simply Siri, but a full system that will operate EVERYTHING on your device using your voice.

"System login" "Open Safari" "Open URL" "Print Page"

...and the ability to manipulate apps and their operations using voice commands...such as iPhoto "Increase Satuation to 60%" "Apply filter" "Post to Facebook" etc

fh-ace · May 10, 2013

Doctors and scanners

Michael73 said:
I wonder how this would work for desktops or laptops? Maybe it could be built into the trackpad / magic mouse somehow?

One big downside though for a specific use-case...a lot of my friends are doctors who are using their iPads during patient rounds at the hospital. To access patient records they need to log into electronic medical record systems. Although this would be a perfect place to have a fingerprint sensor, more often than not they are wearing latex gloves.

My Doctors office uses finger print scanners at all terminals. They don't seem to have any issues with it, at least they didn't say anything negative about them when I asked. All of them said, its better than typing passwords

absurdamerica · May 10, 2013

Not only will the "gimmick" fingerprint sensor be used to unlock your phone, it will be used to authenticate your apple ID for purchases and will be a good start to allowing for secure mobile payments and passbook activities.

bbeagle · May 10, 2013

Davmeister said:
Hmmm...they won't just have fingerprint sensors as the only login option tho. What about burns victims? People with disfigurements etc.

You're really grasping at straws to find something negative aren't you?

99% of people will find this useful. I guess Apple should never have released the iPhone as it also requires use of a finger? The humanity!

Porco · May 10, 2013

I'm still not convinced on the security of fingerprint readers, and I think it's an incredibly bad idea to tie computer security to biometrics of any kind. It isn't like a password or e-mail address that can be changed if it gets out. You get one chance, and then your biometrics are compromised for the rest of your life.

I trust Apple with my data more than I trust most companies, because they have shown to act (relatively) responsibly with it, plus it's not their business model to sell that data. But even Apple would have to do a lot more for to ever consider giving up my biometric data for them to hold as a password replacement. The benefits just aren't worth the risks.

Ryth · May 10, 2013

goobot said:
It doesn't matter, the phone doesn't work with dead fingers.

Then they'll take live fingers..meaning the person...hostage, etc...

Apple will get blamed for something with this...trust me.

jrswizzle · May 10, 2013

Nightarchaon said:
i actively avoid using the scamming, lying, turd of a con-artist company Paypal at all costs, if a company only takes payment via paypal i look elsewhere for my purchase.

Really don't want them embedding themselves in ANY part of iOS.

Also didn't mythbusters prove that fingerprint sensors, even the state of the art ones, can be fooled by a bit of body heat and some silicon gel ?

Lol? Genuinely interested in what PayPal did to you.....

trainwrecka · May 10, 2013

Rossatron said:
Oh man, now I'm really excited about the new iPhone.
goodbye extremely long and complicated passwords

1Password FTW

PayPal Executive Looks for Apple to Adopt Fingerprint Sensors, Lead Charge Away From Passwords

macrumors bot

Suspended

macrumors 68000

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 65816

macrumors 603

macrumors 603

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68030

macrumors 601

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

macrumors 65816

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

macrumors 65816

macrumors 6502

macrumors 68030

macrumors newbie

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

macrumors 68040

macrumors 68000

macrumors 603

macrumors 6502a

Our Staff