Galaxy Nexus Fooled by Facial Recognition Flaw
21.05.12
According to tech blog Soyacinau, a test on the Nexus revealed that users can unlock the device with a just a photo taken on another device, proving facial recognition-based passkeys to be more vulnerable than a standard password or PIN.
The Nexus devices at the event were not running the final build of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich software, however, and the device is not even out yet. And, when software developer Tim Bray, who worked on the facial recognition feature, was questioned on Twitter whether the unlock method was easily hackable with a picture he responded, "Nope. Give us some credit."
It remains to be seen whether the security behind facial unlock is tighter in the launch version of the Nexus, but Google admits the software's imperfections on the "about screen," where it warns the feature may not be absolutely secure.
The company urges users to keep in mind that facial recognition passkeys are not as secure as pattern PIN or a password, and someone who looks similar to the phone's owner could break in.
Source: Mobiledia