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How a 7-year-old bypassed his dad’s iPhone fingerprint lock

Wise beyond his years.

 

Rob Price

Tech

Posted on Dec 2, 2014   Updated on May 30, 2021, 2:17 am CDT

Law enforcement and Apple have become locked in an increasingly bitter dispute over the technology company’s heightened encryption—with one senior police officer claiming that the iPhone will “become the phone of choice for the pedophile.”

But where the FBI has failed, others have succeeded in gaining unauthorised access to the handsets, one Harrison Green succeeded. Who is Harrison Green, you ask? A 7-year-old boy.

It’s a perfect example of the dangers that accompany using biometrics to secure data: Cryptographic expert Matthew Green has found his son Harrison bypassing the security measures, CNN Money reports, by swiping the phone with his thumb while he slept.

While you can in certain circumstances refuse to divulge your password to law enforcement under the Fifth Amendment (although this isn’t as cut-and-dry as some claim; always consult with a lawyer), no such protections exist for biometric data. The most recent ruling on the matter—from a Virginia Circuit Court judge—says that (with a warrant) police can use your finger to unlock your device without your consent, as no “knowledge” is divulged in the process.

But the case of intrepid Harrison shows that—even if it’s not law enforcement after you—it’s easy to undo the most sophisticated cryptography in the world if you’re relying solely on biometric protections.

H/T CCN Money | Photo via Kevin Dooley/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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*First Published: Dec 2, 2014, 11:33 am CST