Vietnamese security firm Bkav claims to have cracked Apple‘s iPhone X Face ID security system with a mask that apparently cost $150 USD to make. The face dupe was created with a 3-D-printed plastic frame, a silicone layer to imitate skin, makeup and 2-D print-outs of the subject’s eyes and mouth.
Though the hack does require a significant amount of time, effort, technology and skill, it still proves that Apple’s new AI security system is indeed crackable “without any liveness test at all,” and quite instantaneously, as evidenced in the video above.
The concern is perhaps not as big a threat to regular users as it is to celebrities, billionaires and national leaders, whose iPhone Xs could potentially be unlocked via a museum wax figure or even when the victim is asleep, restrained or potentially dead, as noted by security researcher Marc Rogers. “The recognition mechanism is not as strict as you think, ” stated the Bkav researchers. “We just need a half face to create the mask. It was even simpler than we ourselves had thought.”
Watch the video above to see for yourself and let us know if you think Apple’s new Face ID security system is more secure than the Touch ID fingerprint reader.
Law-enforcement agencies such as the FBI, who especially have an interest in accessing seized phones, are probably paying attention.
