September 11, 2013 – by Peter B. Counter
Yesterday’s iPhone announcement shook the world of biometrics deep into its foundations: along with the news of the colorful, new and more affordable iPhone 5C, Apple unveiled the Touch ID Sensor. Made out of sapphire so that it won’t scratch, and able to authenticate multiple fingerprints, the biometric sensor is going to, at the very least, replace lock screen PINs, and could be a sign that a mobile commerce solution is in the works from the dealers of iLife.
As big as the announcement was, it did not come as a surprise. Rumors of a fingerprint biometric solution in an Apple mobile device have been flying around since the company acquired AuthenTec last year and, thanks to an iOS 7 code leak, all but confirmed months ago.
The CBC, Canada’s public broadcasting company, interviewed findBIOMETRICS president Peter O’Neill in preparation for yesterday’s Apple event. The article (which can be read in full here) examines the perfect storm of factors that can lead to widespread biometric adoption by the public, which in turn can not only lead to innovations in mobile ID, but the death of the password as we know it.
Follow Us