You Can Apparently Fool Samsung Galaxy S8 Facial Recognition With A Photo
A number of companies have turned to facial recognition as a way to offer customers another level of security: from MasterCard’s “selfie” verification to British Airways’ face-scanning boarding process. Now, Samsung is using the technology as a way to unlock its new Galaxy S8 smartphone, but it turns out the process may not be as secure as one would hope.
Just days after Samsung debuted the new smartphone, and its facial recognition software, a researcher says he was able to trick the face-scanning program with a photo.
The flaw was uncovered in a live Periscope video by bloggers at Marcianophone and posted by iDeviceHelp on YouTube.
In the demo, the researcher registered his face to the phone to lock it. He then took a photo of himself on another device, placed it above the Galaxy S8 and unlocked the device.
While the video from iDeviceHelp notes that it is unclear if the Galaxy S8 used was a demo version or the final product, The Verge reports that Samsung has previously said facial scanning isn’t the most secure form of authentication for the devices.
Instead, users can use a PIN, fingerprint, or the also new iris scanner to secure their devices.
We’ve reached out to Samsung for comment on the alleged flaw and will update this post when we hear back.
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