With the modern day spectre of PRSIM and the potential for NSA spying, the potential to have your fingerprints mis-appropriated albeit even accidentally is something that the every day person must think about and the same goes for HTC with the launch of their fingerprint scanner enabled HTC One Max. When Apple launched their iPhone 5s, they went to lengths to ensure that customers were aware that their fingerprints were not being stored online where a potential NSA collection could be on the cards and HTC appears to be doing the same thing with the HTC One Max. PhoneArena spoke to HTC, who provided a statement:
PhoneArena: How do you store the fingerprint data? Is it stored in a secure “enclave” inside the chipset, similarly to how Apple stores fingerprint data with the iPhone 5s? Does HTC have access to the fingerprint data stored by users on their One max phones? Is it possible for HTC to share this data with third-parties?
HTC: The fingerprint data is stored in local memory. It is encrypted and stored in the system partition, which can’t be readily accessed or copied. The fingerprint data is not an actual image but fingerprint characteristics that have been identified by a proprietary algorithm. No, HTC does not have access to the information and the fingerprint cannot be used by a third party.
Fingerprint scanning to secure or launch applications is an intriguing concept, but the implementations have been buggy to date, but with the launch of iPhone 5s Touch ID Fingerprint scanner which seems to work pretty well, the market seems ready to erupt again. As long as the potential for security breeches is minimised by being purely on-device this could work out well, it just remains to be seen who can implement fingerprint scanning well.
Are you interested in using Fingerprint scanning to secure your device or initate other functions?
Usually scans the subdermial layers of the skin as well which you can’t get as easily
Finger print biometrics are a layer of security, but they are not a very strong one. They are akin to a strong password that you are not able to change, that you make millions of UV ink copies of and leave laying about everywhere you go (especially on the device you are trying to protect). Most people will not bother to reveal your “password”, but those who are willing to do so will require very little effort to gain access. As long as you consider that it only keeps the honest people out and you are happy with that level… Read more »