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posted by janrinok on Sunday October 20 2019, @01:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the dead-sure-that-it-shouldn't-do-that dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Pixel 4's 'Face Unlock' works even if you're asleep or dead -- and that's a problem

Google's new Pixel 4 smartphone doesn't have a fingerprint sensor. Instead it relies on "Face Unlock," a proprietary facial scanning system similar to the one found in Apple's Face ID. Early reports show a system that works well, perhaps too well, in fact, according to some security experts.

To unlock a Pixel, the operator must hold it up to their face while onboard cameras and sensors go to work scanning their mug for defining characteristics — the distance between your eyes, for example. Once the device is confident it's you, it unlocks and allows you to access the operating system.

With Google's system, according to the BBC, the Pixel's Face Unlock function works even if a user's eyes are closed, a clear and security risk for anyone with a Pixel 4. Using default settings, users who are asleep, or even dead, could unknowingly unlock their phone for others.

According to Google representatives, "Pixel 4 Face Unlock meets the security requirements as a strong biometric." True, but this in and of itself might not be enough. At its launch, Pixel product manager Sherry Lin said, "There are actually only two face [authorization] solutions that meet the bar for being super-secure. So, you know, for payments, that level — it's ours and Apple's."


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday October 21 2019, @02:04PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday October 21 2019, @02:04PM (#909875) Journal

    > I don't get the joke. Care to elaborate?

    My father's Chinese: /* *\

    My mother's Japanese: *\ /*

    But I'm just a plain ol' kid: /* */ or *\ \*

    (and my friend is European: (* *) )

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
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