Biometrics expert slams Apple and Samsung fingerprint scanners as unsecured ‘gimmicks’

This is why you can’t use Touch ID to log in to your iPhone after rebooting

It’s pretty safe to say that computer science Professor Willy Susilo won’t be relying on a fingerprint scanner to keep his mobile phone secure. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Susilo says that the fingerprint scanners used by Apple and Samsung are mere “gimmicks” that hackers can easily fool and that don’t give users and real biometric security.

That said, Susilo doesn’t think that this means biometrics have no place mobile security. In fact he’s very bullish on two different kinds of biometrics scanners that may one day grace our smartphones: Retina scanners and vein scanners.

Susilo is more optimistic about vein scanners, mostly because there are concerns among biometrics researchers that iris scanners could present cancer risks. Another advantage to vein scanners is that they apparently require no physical contact, which makes it harder for hackers to create fake models like the ones they use to fool fingerprint scanners.

More from BGR: Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8): Which is the best Android phone in the world?

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Related stories

New Samsung transparent displays blur the line between virtual reality and the real world

Here are 10 hidden Galaxy S5 features you should check out right now

Leaked pic seemingly shows iOS 8 running on an iPhone 5s