Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by mangoman on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @02:31PM
(#6478123)
I'm sure 5s's are fetching at least $400 on the conservative side. If all I have to do is spend like $5 and follow a how-to on a website, I think a lot of people would be willing to make the investment.
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Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by mendocino on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @02:35PM
(#6478153)
If your objective is to sell a stolen iPhone then you still have to know the owners Apple ID and password due to activation lock. Being able to bypass Touch ID isn't going to help you.
Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by slantyyz on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @03:44PM
(#6478605)
But what if the objective isn't to steal the phone but to surreptitiously collect or plant information?
I can think of some examples:
* jealous spouses who want to look at call logs, emails, text histories
* unscrupulous managers looking to see if you've been talking to headhunters, competitors, etc.
* stalker coworkers who are looking for "private selfies"
* frenemies who want to post inflammatory messages using one of your social media accounts
Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by hayksaakian on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @03:10PM
(#6478402)
Nope. If it's not a hardware lock, it will be bypassed.
Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by glitch003 on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @04:18PM
(#6478812)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Apple's new iOS7 activation lock has not been defeated yet.
Keep in mind that if these criminals can't figure it out by googling it, they will give up and move on. The typical phone thief isn't a security expert with the knowledge to invent a previously unknown exploit.
Re:Fingerprints are Usernames, not Passwords
by jordanthoms on Tuesday October 01, 2013 @05:19PM
(#6479157)
Well, it's possible that the fence they sell the phones to would be motivated to find an exploit.