Apple iPhone 5S: how hackers ‘cracked’ fingerprint senso

GERMAN hackers claim to have bypassed the fingerprint sensor on Apple's new iPhone 5S.
The new security feature was billed by Apple as a "convenient and highly secure way to access your phone". But just days after the iPhone 5S was released, the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), a group of hackers in Germany, claims it has cracked the security feature using "easy everyday means" - a camera, a laser printer and some wood glue.
On a blog post, they explain how they photographed the user's fingerprint from a glass surface, cleaned up the image using computer software, inverted the colours and then printed it onto a transparent sheet using a laser printer with a thick toner setting. They then smeared white wood glue into the pattern created by the toner.
Once it had set, the layer of glue was lifted from the sheet and placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone.
Frank Rieger, a spokesman for the CCC, said: "The public should no longer be fooled by the biometrics industry with false security claims."
Apple claims the sensor is better than less secure sensors because it uses a "deep-skin fingerprint". But CCC says the new technology works in the same way as any others, just at a higher resolution, and can therefore be fooled in the same way.
Security expert Graham Cluley agrees. He tells the Daily Telegraph that fingerprints are not secrets, and can easily be picked up and copied by others. "Relying on your fingerprints to secure a device may be okay for casual security - but you shouldn't depend upon it if you have sensitive data you wish to protect," he says.
Meanwhile, Forbes says it is at least more secure than a short passcode and infinitely more protective than having no passcode at all. It adds: "The public should take advantage of additional security wherever it can get it."

Two new iPhones: how California tech giant hopes to win back fans it has lost to rivals

APPLE fans queued up overnight outside the company's flagship stores in around the world - in fact some got in line outside the New York shop as long ago as Tuesday - for the tech giant's latest product release.

In the UK, the new iPhone 5S and 5C handsets went on sale at 8am this morning, though it should be noted that the some dealers are reporting a "frustrating" lack of stock of the 5S.
Apple has released a new iPhone every year since 2007, says The Independent. This year, for the first time, it's launching two...
Why are there two models? It's "a recognition that Apple needed to win back customers" from its main rivals, Samsung and HTC, says the Independent. The two models are designed to appeal to two different groups: high-end smartphone
addicts and customers happy with something "funkier, brighter and cheaper".
How much do they cost? The iPhone 5C is on sale in the UK at £469 for the 16GB model and £549 for the 32GB model, says the Daily Telegraph while the "main event" is the 5S, yours for £549 for the 16GB model, £629 for the 32GB model
and £709 for the 64GB.
What are the 5S's new features? The 5S uses the same chassis as last year's iPhone 5 but "crams a lot more" into it. It has a new,
super-fast A7 processor. The camera has a larger sensor and larger, more effective pixels. And for the first time the phone has a
fingerprint scanner, integral to the main button, which will unlock the phone only for its owner - though some alarmists have speculated, with tongue firmly in cheek, that this could lead to muggers cutting off fingers.
Is the 5S faster? Yes - it has a new chip, the A7, which makes navigating around apps and other screens quicker. The 5S also comes with a clever motion sensor which works out when the phone is not being carried around and saves power at those times by checking online for updates less often. All these features make the iPhone 5S "the best smartphone Apple, or anyone, has yet made" says the Independent.
What about the 5C? The cheaper model is still an improvement on the iPhone 5. It has a better front-facing camera and enjoys longer battery life. Most eye-catchingly, it comes in a choice of five bright colours - while the 5S comes only in grey or black.
What about the operating system? Both