新iPhone令指纹识别重获关注.

　　苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的新产品发布可能会给一项未能在最初获得采用的技术注入新生命，这项技术就是指纹识别。

　　DJ All Things D:Apple&aposs Latest iPhone Puts Focus Back on Fingerprint Security

　　Apple&aposs latest product launch could breathe new life into a technology that failed to take hold the first time: fingerprint scanners.

　　Placing a finger on a computer or smartphone has long been proposed as a way to avoid the need for passwords to authenticate users of computers and other devices. People familiar with the matter said last week that Apple will include a fingerprint scanner on the more expensive of two iPhones it is expected to unveil Tuesday at an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

　　Because of Apple&aposs influence, other companies are likely to follow. At least one new smartphone running Google Inc.&aposs Android operating system to be released this year will include a similar fingerprint sensor, though it is unclear if that phone will be sold in the U.S, a person familiar with the matter said. A Google spokesman declined to comment.

　　Behind the activity is a growing recognition that passwords are a porous dense for consumers&apos information-- particularly on mobile devices likely to be lost or stolen. At the same time, recent technology advances have made fingerprint scanners more accurate and reliable, addressing issues that previously impeded their adoption.

　　Some laptop computer manufacturers began building such scanners into their machines more than a decade ago. But despite the 007-like cool factor, the technology proved too temperamental for most consumers.

　　&aposIt was not reliable to use on a daily basis,&apos said Kevin Mahaffey, chi technology officer of Lookout Inc., a mobile cybersecurity company, who tried to be an early adopter of the technology a decade ago when he bought a fingerprint scanner for his desktop computer.

　　Motorola Mobility LLC, a unit of Google, included a fingerprint sensor in its Atrix 4G phone in 2011. The company stopped using the sensors because, among other reasons, costumers complained about scanner errors and many didn&apost use the feature, a person familiar with the matter said.

　　But concerns about consumers&apos reliance on passwords--often composed of just six to 10 letters or numbers--continue to grow. Fraudsters and hackers have found a variety of ways to steal or crack codes that may be shared among multiple Web accounts.

　　Meanwhile, some major companies have signaled that fingerprint-based safeguards may finally be ready. In one sign, big players that include Google, LG Electronics Inc., eBay Inc.&aposs PayPal unit and Lenovo Group Ltd. have joined a nonprofit called the Fast IDentity Online Alliance, which pushes for broader use of biometrics, among other alternatives to passwords.

　　&aposIt seems a natural fit,&apos said Kevin Kempskie, a spokesman for RSA, the security unit of EMC Corp. Once smartphones are protected with fingerprints, &aposyou could do all kinds of things,&apos he said.

　　In theory, scanning a user&aposs finger could be a very fast way to unlock a phone or authorize a payment--and unlike a password, impossible for an unauthorized person to crack by guessing or trying different combinations.

　　A scanner on a smartphone could also be used to safeguard corporate networks, acting much like security tokens made by RSA and others that generate sequences of numbers to be used with passwords, Mr. Kempskie said. A corporate customer could enter his password and then be required to scan his thumb on his iPhone, using an RSA app, for example, to verify his identity, he said.

　　They could also be used for physical security. August, a San Francisco startup, plans to ship a deadbolt lock add-on--the device fits on an existing lock--later this year that allows users to unlock their front doors with their smartphones. The company will likely allow customers to use their fingerprint as an additional form of verification, said Jason Johnson, its chi executive.

　　It remains unclear whether Apple will let outside developers employ the fingerprint scanner in apps, if at all. An Apple spokeswoman didn&apost return a request for comment.

　　Apple purchased fingerprint-reader specialist AuthenTec in 2012, and the U.S. government recently approved Apple&aposs patent for its own fingerprint reader technology. The company, like other makers of fingerprint scanners, uses radio frequencies to map a finger&aposs surface.

　　Older scanners required users to swipe their finger across a device and employed software to create a composite image of the fingerprint. Greasy or incorrectly placed fingers would lead to false negatives, as the scanners could only capture one image at a time.

　　Newer models scan the surface of a finger or thumb while it is at rest, allowing it to capture one to five images after one touch. This gives backup images in case the first is poor quality, said Sebastien Taveau, CTO at Validity Sensors Inc., another fingerprint-sensor company that doesn&apost work with Apple.

　　Fingerprints aren&apost foolproof. They can sometimes be tricked if an attacker uses scans or molds of a user&aposs fingerprints, as the TV show &aposMythBusters&apos recently demonstrated to unlock a laptop. (Mr. Taveau said the finger must be attached to a living hand on most modern systems.)

　　Smartphones can also be hacked in ways that could bypass a fingerprint scanner.

　　&aposThere&aposs potential danger of a false sense of security,&apos said Bret Hartman, CTO of Cisco Systems Inc.&aposs computer-security business. Still, the longtime security guru and a former executive at RSA said &aposit&aposs dinitely an important step in the right direction.&apos

　　But fingerprints have the advantage of requiring few steps, and nothing to memorize, compared with other alternatives.

　　&aposThe industry has always struggled with balancing online security with ease of use--and one has always come at the expense of the other,&apos said Raj Mata, senior director of platform services at PayPal.

　　August&aposs Mr. Johnson remains a bit skeptical.

　　&aposIf I go jogging with my iPhone and I come back to my house and my thumb is all sweaty and I can&apost get in my apartment door, that would kind of suck,&apos he said.

　　苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的新产品发布可能会给一项未能在最初获得采用的技术注入新生命，这项技术就是指纹识别。

　　在电脑或者智能手机上使用指纹识别技术的提议很早以前就有了。这种方法可以使用户不必通过输入密码来完成电脑等设备的用户鉴别。据知情人士上周透露，预计苹果将在周二发布两款iPhone，其中价格更高的那款iPhone中将配备指纹识别器。苹果周二的发布会将在其位于加州丘珀蒂诺的总部举行。

　　考虑到苹果的影响力，其他公司可能会紧随其后。一位知情人士说，至少有一款今年将发布的运行谷歌(Google Inc.)安卓(Android)操作系统的智能手机将包含一个类似的指纹传感器，但不清楚这款手机是否会在美国销售。一位谷歌发言人不予置评。

　　目前有越来越多的人意识到密码在保护消费者信息方面存在漏洞，尤其是在可能丢失或者失窃的移动设备上。与此同时，最近的技术进步已经令指纹识别器更加精准和可靠，解决了此前导致它们未获采用的问题。

　　一些笔记本电脑制造商在10多年前就已开始在他们的产品中安装此类识别器。但尽管这项技术会让人感觉像007一样酷，但大多数消费者感觉它很不稳定。

　　移动网络安全公司Lookout Inc.的首席技术长马哈菲(Kevin Mahaffey)说，这项技术并不是适合每天使用的可靠技术。10年前马哈菲曾试图成为这项技术的早期使用者，当时他买了一台装有指纹识别器的台式电脑。

　　谷歌子公司摩托罗拉移动公司(Motorola Mobility LLC) 2011年在Atrix 4G手机中安装了一个指纹传感器。一位知情人士说，后来该公司停止使用这种传感器，一个原因是消费者纷纷抱怨这个识别器总出现错误，而且许多人都不使用这个功能。

　　但围绕消费者依赖密码的担忧还在加剧，他们设定的密码通常只有6到10个字母或者数字。骗子和黑客已经找到了窃取或者破解密码的一系列方法，这些密码可能是多个网络账户共享的密码。

　　与此同时，一些大型公司已经暗示，基于指纹的保护措施可能终于准备好了。一个迹象是，包括谷歌、LG电子(LG Electronics Co.)、eBay Inc.的贝宝(PayPal)子公司和联想集团有限公司(Lenovo Group Ltd.)在内的大公司已加入一个非营利性的线上快速身份验证联盟(Fast IDentity Online Alliance)，该组织致力于推进生物识别等密码替代品获得更广泛的使用。

　　EMC Corp.旗下安全子公司RSA的发言人坎普斯基(Kempskie)说，这似乎是自然而然的事。他说，一旦智能手机采用指纹保护，你就可以做各种各样的事了。

　　理论上，扫描用户的指纹可以是非常快速的解锁手机或授权支付的方式——而且不同于密码的是，未经授权的人不可能通过猜测或尝试不同组合来破解。

　　坎普斯基说，智能手机上的扫描装置还可以用于保护公司网络，其作用就像RSA和其他公司生产的安全令牌，后者可以产生与密码同时使用的数字序列。他说，比如一位公司客户可以输入他的密码，然后被要求在其iPhone上使用一个RSA的应用扫描大拇指以确认身份。

　　它们还可以被用于保护实物的安全。旧金山初创公司August计划今年晚些时候开始销售一款插销锁的附件，也就是安装在现有的锁上面的设备，可以让用户用智能手机开门。该公司首席执行长约翰逊(Jason Johnson)说，它还可能让顾客将指纹作为额外的认证方式。

　　目前还不清楚，如果真有指纹识别器的话，苹果是否会让外部开发人员在应用中使用此装置。苹果发言人没有回复置评请求。

　　苹果于2012年收购了指纹识别器厂商AuthenTec，美国政府不久前批准了苹果自己的指纹读取技术专利。该公司与其他指纹识别器厂商一样，采用无线电频率识别指纹。

　　老式的指纹识别器要求用户将手指滑过设备，并用软件产生指纹的合成图像。如果手指油腻或没放对位置就会被错误地拒绝，因为识别器每次只能捕捉一个图像。

　　较新的识别装置会在手指或拇指静止的状态下扫描其表面，从而可以在一次触摸后捕捉一个到五个图像。另一家没有与苹果合作的指纹传感器公司Validity Sensors Inc.的首席技术长塔沃(Sebastien Taveau)说，这样的话，如果第一个图像质量太差，还可以有备用的图像。

　　指纹并非不会出错。正如电视节目《流言终结者》(MythBusters)不久前展示的解锁笔记本电脑的方法一样，如果攻击者利用用户指纹的扫描图像或模型，有时也可以骗过识别装置。(塔沃说，在大多数现代系统中，必须是活的人手上的手指才可以。)

　　智能手机还可以通过能绕过指纹识别装置的方式受到攻击。

　　思科系统(Cisco Systems Inc.)电脑安全业务的首席技术长哈特曼(Bret Hartman)说，可能存在虚假安全感的危险。不过这位长期的安全专家、前RSA高管说，这肯定是往正确方向迈进的重要一步。

　　但相比其他选择，指纹识别具有步骤少、也无需记住任何东西的优势。

　　贝宝平台服务高管主管马塔(Raj Mata)说，整个行业一直在极力平衡网络安全与使用便利，二者之间总是需要相互取舍。

　　August的约翰逊还有点怀疑。

　　他说，如果我带着iPhone去跑步，回到家时手指全是汗，进不了家门，那真有点糟糕。

　　苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的新产品发布可能会给一项未能在最初获得采用的技术注入新生命，这项技术就是指纹识别。

　　DJ All Things D:Apple&aposs Latest iPhone Puts Focus Back on Fingerprint Security

　　Apple&aposs latest product launch could breathe new life into a technology that failed to take hold the first time: fingerprint scanners.

　　Placing a finger on a computer or smartphone has long been proposed as a way to avoid the need for passwords to authenticate users of computers and other devices. People familiar with the matter said last week that Apple will include a fingerprint scanner on the more expensive of two iPhones it is expected to unveil Tuesday at an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

　　Because of Apple&aposs influence, other companies are likely to follow. At least one new smartphone running Google Inc.&aposs Android operating system to be released this year will include a similar fingerprint sensor, though it is unclear if that phone will be sold in the U.S, a person familiar with the matter said. A Google spokesman declined to comment.

　　Behind the activity is a growing recognition that passwords are a porous dense for consumers&apos information-- particularly on mobile devices likely to be lost or stolen. At the same time, recent technology advances have made fingerprint scanners more accurate and reliable, addressing issues that previously impeded their adoption.

　　Some laptop computer manufacturers began building such scanners into their machines more than a decade ago. But despite the 007-like cool factor, the technology proved too temperamental for most consumers.

　　&aposIt was not reliable to use on a daily basis,&apos said Kevin Mahaffey, chi technology officer of Lookout Inc., a mobile cybersecurity company, who tried to be an early adopter of the technology a decade ago when he bought a fingerprint scanner for his desktop computer.

　　Motorola Mobility LLC, a unit of Google, included a fingerprint sensor in its Atrix 4G phone in 2011. The company stopped using the sensors because, among other reasons, costumers complained about scanner errors and many didn&apost use the feature, a person familiar with the matter said.

　　But concerns about consumers&apos reliance on passwords--often composed of just six to 10 letters or numbers--continue to grow. Fraudsters and hackers have found a variety of ways to steal or crack codes that may be shared among multiple Web accounts.

　　Meanwhile, some major companies have signaled that fingerprint-based safeguards may finally be ready. In one sign, big players that include Google, LG Electronics Inc., eBay Inc.&aposs PayPal unit and Lenovo Group Ltd. have joined a nonprofit called the Fast IDentity Online Alliance, which pushes for broader use of biometrics, among other alternatives to passwords.

　　&aposIt seems a natural fit,&apos said Kevin Kempskie, a spokesman for RSA, the security unit of EMC Corp. Once smartphones are protected with fingerprints, &aposyou could do all kinds of things,&apos he said.

　　In theory, scanning a user&aposs finger could be a very fast way to unlock a phone or authorize a payment--and unlike a password, impossible for an unauthorized person to crack by guessing or trying different combinations.

　　A scanner on a smartphone could also be used to safeguard corporate networks, acting much like security tokens made by RSA and others that generate sequences of numbers to be used with passwords, Mr. Kempskie said. A corporate customer could enter his password and then be required to scan his thumb on his iPhone, using an RSA app, for example, to verify his identity, he said.

　　They could also be used for physical security. August, a San Francisco startup, plans to ship a deadbolt lock add-on--the device fits on an existing lock--later this year that allows users to unlock their front doors with their smartphones. The company will likely allow customers to use their fingerprint as an additional form of verification, said Jason Johnson, its chi executive.

　　It remains unclear whether Apple will let outside developers employ the fingerprint scanner in apps, if at all. An Apple spokeswoman didn&apost return a request for comment.

　　Apple purchased fingerprint-reader specialist AuthenTec in 2012, and the U.S. government recently approved Apple&aposs patent for its own fingerprint reader technology. The company, like other makers of fingerprint scanners, uses radio frequencies to map a finger&aposs surface.

　　Older scanners required users to swipe their finger across a device and employed software to create a composite image of the fingerprint. Greasy or incorrectly placed fingers would lead to false negatives, as the scanners could only capture one image at a time.

　　Newer models scan the surface of a finger or thumb while it is at rest, allowing it to capture one to five images after one touch. This gives backup images in case the first is poor quality, said Sebastien Taveau, CTO at Validity Sensors Inc., another fingerprint-sensor company that doesn&apost work with Apple.

　　Fingerprints aren&apost foolproof. They can sometimes be tricked if an attacker uses scans or molds of a user&aposs fingerprints, as the TV show &aposMythBusters&apos recently demonstrated to unlock a laptop. (Mr. Taveau said the finger must be attached to a living hand on most modern systems.)

　　Smartphones can also be hacked in ways that could bypass a fingerprint scanner.

　　&aposThere&aposs potential danger of a false sense of security,&apos said Bret Hartman, CTO of Cisco Systems Inc.&aposs computer-security business. Still, the longtime security guru and a former executive at RSA said &aposit&aposs dinitely an important step in the right direction.&apos

　　But fingerprints have the advantage of requiring few steps, and nothing to memorize, compared with other alternatives.

　　&aposThe industry has always struggled with balancing online security with ease of use--and one has always come at the expense of the other,&apos said Raj Mata, senior director of platform services at PayPal.

　　August&aposs Mr. Johnson remains a bit skeptical.

　　&aposIf I go jogging with my iPhone and I come back to my house and my thumb is all sweaty and I can&apost get in my apartment door, that would kind of suck,&apos he said.

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