Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 Iris Scanner Is A
Welcome New Authentication Option
A small sensor at
the top of the phone briefly images your unique eye features to securely log
you in.
In its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, Samsung has
added a whole new way to unlock the device for use. Instead of entering a
passcode or fingerprint, you now have the option of pointing your eyes at a
small sensor at the top of the phone.
Iris scanning as a biometric authentication method has been around
for a long time, but the Note 7 is the first Samsung phone to add the option.
In fact, the Note 7 is the highest-profile mass market smartphone to add iris
scanning.
Here's how the technology works. A small sensor at the top front
of the phone identifies the finely detailed and totally unique characteristics
in your iris. The iris is the colored area around the black pupil at the center
of the eye. Once the software inside the phone makes a positive match between
the image seen by the sensor and the image it took of your iris during the
set-up process, the phone unlocks.
During the set-up process, you’re asked to set up the iris scanner
just after you’re asked to set up the fingerprint reader. You see the red light
of the sensor light up several times as it creates a profile of the look of
your iris, converting the visual information into a numeric representation.
I found that the iris scanner worked well after a little bit of
practice. You have to hold the phone out in front of your face (looking down at
it on the table won’t work) at about five inches away for the best (quickest)
results. It also helps to remove your reading glasses.
When you want to use your iris to unlock the phone, you signal
that to the phone by swiping upward on the screen. So, actually the
authentication involves three steps—clicking the phone’s on button, swiping up on
the screen, then holding the phone in front of your face to wait for the scan.
To open the phone with the fingerprint reader, you only have to click the home
button, then leave your thumb or finger there for a second for the sensor to
recognize your print.
After using the iris scanner a few times, I found that the scan is
very, very fast. You barely hold the phone up and it’s already unlocked for
you.
The iris scanner on the Note 7 can be used to authenticate you for
a few of the phone's other features as well. According to the Settings, you can
use a positive iris scan to log into certain websites. An iris scan can also be
used in lieu of your Samsung account password.
The iris scanner can be used as a way to log into work-related
assets kept inside Samsung’s Knox security framework. Similarly, the scanner
can be used as the lock and key for a Secure Folder on the phone, in which you
can keep apps and documents that are meant for your eyes only.
You set up your secure folder in the settings, and indicate that
you’d like the iris scanner to be your main means of keying into it. Then,
after you unlock your phone, you’ll see the new folder front and center on the
home screen. Once you tap on it, the iris scanner automatically comes on and
looks for a positive read.
The iris scanner does not work to authenticate Samsung Pay mobile
payments, but Samsung has said that’s coming soon.
Many consumers first became aware
of the importance of mobile device privacy and encryptions when Apple refused to unlock the iPhone
of a domestic terrorist for the FBI last winter. This lead to some important
discussions on the relative security of
various phone unlocking mechanisms, but at that time we were mainly
talking about alphanumeric passcodes versus fingerprint readers. The iris scanner
brings a whole new player into the game where consumer electronics are
concerned.
Security-wise, how well does the iris scanner stack up?
"Generally speaking, iris can be more secure than fingerprint because
there are more points to check than fingerprint," says Moor Insights &
Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead. "But researchers will need to test this
specific Samsung Note 7 implementation to validate this."
But, in a way, the fact that your iris never changes could be a
mark against the relative security of the iris scan. No authentication method,
security experts will tell you, is totally secure, and if some bad actor ever
got a hold of your iris scan, it would be compromised forever. You can’t change
your iris print in the way you can change a password.
MARK SULLIVAN
https://www.fastcompany.com/3063099/samsungs-galaxy-note-7-iris-scanner-is-a-welcome-new-authentication-option
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