Apple Pushes Back: iPhone 5S Fingerprint Reader Is Very Secure

The biggest innovation of the iPhone 5S is probably "Touch ID (fingerprint recognition)." Yesterday, a former Google security expert stated that for the 5S's fingerprint recognition to store fingerprint images locally, the storage location must be extremely secure. Apple has also responded to this.

Apple told the Wall Street Journal that the Touch ID on the iPhone 5S is only used to identify and store fingerprint data, not actual images. This data, after being encrypted, is stored in the A7 processor. This means that even if someone were to hack into the iPhone 5S processor, they would not be able to obtain the user's fingerprint information.

Meanwhile, Apple also mentioned that users who use Touch ID will create a password as a backup. If the phone restarts or remains unlocked for 48 hours, only the password can unlock the phone; fingerprints will not work, which prevents hackers from bypassing the fingerprint scanner to access the phone.

In addition, Apple pointed out that when a user's finger is wet or injured, the Touch ID may have difficulty recognizing it.