iPhone X’s Very Safe Face ID Security Busted By Hackers In Just One Week

The newest flagship of Apple phone gained the bragging rights to the first ever Face ID system. However, hackers are quickly crumbling down the company’s reputation with an experiment supposedly showing how the security feature can be fooled.

The cyber security firm Bkav claims to have beaten the Apple iPhone X’s face ID security system. Hackers from the firm revealed that a 3D printed mask which only costs $150 can fool the software.

Apple claims its Face ID feature is so safe that it won’t be fooled by masks and impersonators.

During the presentation of the new iPhone X in September, Apple said that their Face ID system cannot be fooled by photos, impersonators and masks, basically making it one of the most effective security systems for phones. They also said that there is just a one in a “one in a million chance of another person being able to unlock the phone.” Furthermore, they said that they have stress-tested the technology using silicone masks made by Hollywood studios and the strategy failed against their Face ID.

This system is currently being used to unlock the new phone model, as well as allowing owners to authorize mobile payments and log in to several apps. The new software completely took over the company’s finger print sensor embedded in the home button which they used on their phone models for several years.

Bkav researchers have however proved that the Face ID is not as effective as Apple’s claims. The security system can be breached which they demonstrated in an experiment where they used a mask designed on a detailed facial scan.

However, Bkav released a video that shows how they fooled the Face ID software using a 3D printed mask.

The firm said that they constructed a mask using 3D printing techniques, a silicone nose and printed images of the eyes. The experiment was filmed and the video was recently released by the company where the iPhone X’s Face ID was seemingly fooled by the mask.

Speculations are rife though that the experiment may have been done on wrong settings. Since the video did not show how the Face ID was set up by the researchers, it is said that it cannot be confirmed whether Bkav’s technique actually works or not.

If the experiment was indeed legit, many users can suffer from the inefficiency of the system. When asked who would be targeted by the hack, Bkav said:

“Potential targets shall not be regular users, but billionaires, leaders of major corporations, nation leaders and agents like FBI need to understand the Face ID’s issue. Security units’ competitors, commercial rivals of corporations, and even nations might benefit from our PoC.”

Apple’s VP also tested the feature before the phone was officially launched and it ended in an epic fail.

Apple is still keeping mum about Bkav’s claim but prior to the experiment, the Face ID already caused some embarrassment to the company. It was when Apple’s senior vice president, Craig Federighi, attempted to make a demo on the feature in front of a big audience. He then said:

“With iPhone X, your iPhone is locked until you look at it, and it recognizes you. Nothing has ever been more simple, natural and effortless.
We call this Face ID. Face ID is the future of how we unlock our smartphones and protect our sensitive information.”

Mr. Federighi then explained to the audience how easy it is to operate the Face ID system. He also pointed out on how secured the phone is with the new software. However, the demo finished on humiliation when he tried to lift the phone to his face, only to be told to enter the code for the phone because it failed to recognize his face.

The reliability of Bkav’s experiment cannot be confirmed yet as many are doubtful on how they set up the iPhone’s Face ID settings.

Apple do not advise users below 13 and twins to use the Face ID system. They suggest the use of passcode for their cases.

Watch how Bkav tricked iPhone X’s Face ID from the video below: