iPhone 5s TouchID hacked by CCC

Chaos Computer Club, a group of German hackers, have found a simple way to bypass Apple’s TouchID.

10:22 23 September 2013

A group of German hackers, known as the Chaos Computer Club or CCC, have demonstrated a simple way to bypass Apple’s TouchID. Taking the fingerprint of the phone user from a glass surface was all it took to unlock an iPhone5s that was secured with fingerprint sensor.

In a blog post, CCC said that that Apple’s TouchID simply have a higher resolution than previous sensors. This doesn’t make the technology more secured than previous fingerprint technology like what Apple have claimed before. 

Frank Rieger, spokesperson for the CCC, said: "We hope that this finally puts to rest the illusions people have about fingerprint biometrics. It is plain stupid to use something that you can´t change and that you leave everywhere every day as a security token", said Frank Rieger, spokesperson for the CCC.

"The public should no longer be fooled by the biometrics industry with false security claims. Biometrics is fundamentally a technology designed for oppression and control, not for securing everyday device access."

Apple is yet to comment on the hack. However, Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software, told BusinessWeek that they focused on making sure that fingerprints could not be extracted from the phone a week before iPhone5S was unveiled.