The new iPhone 5S has been a huge hit. Not only has there been plenty of sales on the new phone, there has also been quite the buzz. People want to know how safe it really is to use a fingerprint to unlock your phone, and they want to know if it is really as convenient as they say. Well, I’m hear to break the bad news. Even Apple products can get hacked.

Fingerprinting technology

About five or six years ago, I bought a tablet before it was a craze. The tablet came with a fingerprint unlock function. Of course, the tablet wasn’t operated with a finger. I needed a special pen for that. And the fingerprint function wasn’t exactly perfect. It took two or three times before it recognized it was really me. So, when the new iPhone was coming out, I was worried it wouldn’t work very well, which would make it a huge disappointment. Fortunately, technology is significantly better now than it was back then, and it seems fingerprinting is working really great. But is it too good to be true? Is your phone really secure?

Hacking the fingerprint

Apple claimed it would not be possible to hack a fingerprint, stating that even cutting off a person’s finger wouldn’t work since a live finger would be needed to open the phone. But, of course, that encouraged people to start finding a hack right away. According to PC Magazine, there were even rewards posted for the person who could find the hack. Thousands of dollars were promised through Twitter, and unconventional prizes were offered as well, such as alcohol and bitcoins. It didn’t take long before one person came up with a way to break the code. All it took was a fake fingerprint lifted off of glass. I guess the iPhone 5S isn’t as safe as you think.

Anything can get hacked

If the right person gets your phone, it will get hacked, no matter what kind of safety measures you have. You can either be nervous all the time that your phone will get broken into and get as many safety things put on it as possible, or you can accept the facts and move on. I know it would suck if my phone was stolen because my password isn’t too secure, but at least I know I could easily cancel all accounts associated with my phone and the damage would be minimal. Maybe, if you are really worried, you should make sure you know everything you would need to cancel if your phone got stolen. It might be more productive.

Source: PC Magazine