It's official: GALAXY S5 has a fingerprint reader

Spain, February 24, 2014 - Samsung Electronics today announced the fifth generation of the Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S5, designed for what matters most to consumers. The new Galaxy S5 offers consumers a refined experience with innovation of essential features for day-to-day use.

Essential device protection
The Galaxy S5 is IP67 dust and water resistant. It also offers a Finger Scanner, providing a secure, biometric screen locking feature and a seamless and safe mobile payment experience to consumers. The Ultra Power Saving Mode turns the display to black and white, and shuts down all unnecessary features to minimize the battery consumption.

The device will be available globally through Samsung’s retail channels, e-commerce and carriers on April.

More information is available at the Samsung site here.

See also this video.

The fingerprint scanner comes in for a couple of mentions in the first half.

See also:

If you build it...

Pantech reveals fingerprint-scanning smartphone (MSN - Malaysia)

The biometric reader is built into the phone's rear panel, as is a small touchpad for unlocking the device. An interesting idea in theory but how it will work in practice is anyone's guess.

Mobile application developers need to know that the hardware they rely upon will be there. It's looking more and more likely that, following a false start in 2011, there will be a fingerprint capability in the Android environment. Hopefully it's here to stay this time.



See:
Mobile Handset Review: Motorola Atrix 4G (The One with a Fingerprint Reader) - Monday, October 31, 2011

Disappointment followed two days later...

Motorola Atrix 2 Has No Fingerprint Reader - Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Hamdroid

...or maybe it's the Andster. At any rate, the Android Hamster or Hamster for Android is on it's way and whatever the marketers decide to go with, the combination of a reliable, affordable, off-the-shelf, USB fingerprint reader and reliable, affordable, off-the-shelf, tablet devices could be a real game changer.

Artwork not endorsed/approved by Google or SecuGen

Now, for around than $150 all in, tinkerers can purchase a staggering array of hardware and operate it on an open platform. I can't wait to see what people do with that power. Even before this, folks were applying biometrics to more things than any one person could possibly imagine.

The SecuGen Hamster sells for as low as $79.00.
Android tablets are available for as low as $70.00. I saw some sales circulars in the Sunday paper (Wal-Mart & Best Buy) advertising 7 in. tablets with front-facing cameras and Wi-Fi for $69.99.


Secugen releases fingerprint authentication SDK for Android (Biometric Update)

SecuGen has just announced the release of its FDx SDK Pro for Android.

According to the company, this new SDK will allow developers to add fingerprint authentication to their Android-based software on ARM tablets and smart phones using SecuGen’s Hamster IV and Hamster Plus fingerprint readers. This SDK also incorporates SecuGen’s MINEX tested, FIPS 201/PIV complicate template extraction and matching algorithms.

“We are very excited to be able to offer Android compatibility for our fingerprint readers,” Dan Riley, VP of engineering at SecuGen said. “Our partners have been asking for this and our role, as always, is to provide them with the tools that they need. The FDx SDK Pro for Android is one of several exciting new products that we will be bringing to market in 2013.”

UPDATE: Minor edits, added links to hardware, and bumped.

Droid Hamsters!

SecuGen Corporation announces Android compatibility of SecuGen Hamster Fingerprint Readers (Press Release via California News Wire)

SecuGen's soon-to-be released SDK for Android will allow developers to create mobile applications secured by a user's fingerprint. This SDK for Android will incorporate SecuGen's MINEX certified, FIPS 201/PIV-compliant fingerprint template extraction and matching algorithms. The SDK will also include drivers and APIs for image capture and processing of fingerprints scanned by the Hamster Plus and Hamster IV readers as well as the iD-USB SC and the iD-USB SC/PIV fingerprint and smartcard combination devices. SecuGen's biometric products are widely recognized for being rugged, accurate, and affordable and are sold through reseller partners worldwide.

Biometric Applications on Android Tablets

You're going to start seeing a lot more of this, and not just with biometrics.

Android platform adapted for biometrics (UPI)

"EB's platform is cost-effective and allows fast turnaround, which helps government agencies stay current with their handheld devices. Rather than developing small batches of high-cost, highly specialized product, EB's platform allows us to integrate low-cost modular attachments to meet the needs of specific agencies, while simultaneously producing high volumes of core products at substantially lower cost per unit."

The combination of technologies would allow a broad range of stand-along and network-connected biometric applications for U.S. government agencies, the companies said.

A couple of points:
♦ Right now, Android is the only viable option for this type of product development.
♦ The diversity of mobile hardware running Android is really impressive, and amazingly inexpensive.


See Also: Motorola Atrix 2 Has No Fingerprint Reader. Motorola designed and (briefly) sold an Android device with an on-board fingerprint reader.

In other Atrix news: Motorola Mobility Announces Availability of Motorola ATRIX in Turkey.

Biometrics in Their Proper Security Context

Here's a really good article that, on its surface, is about the facial recognition capabilities included in the Android 4.0 mobile operation system. It also communicates a couple of important security concepts: deterrence and layers.

Facial Recognition and The Club (IT Business Edge via @m2sys)

Deterrence:
I don't have to be faster than the bear, I just have to be faster than you.
OR
Don't be the lowest-hanging fruit.

In the bigger picture, it's useful to think of The Club. The device, which clamps onto opposite sides of an automobile's steering wheel to prevent its turning, isn’t enough to prevent a theft. It is enough, however, to require at least a moderate level of expertise (and, in this example, tools) to get it off. There simply are so many totally unprotected targets – cars in one case, mobile devices in the other – that it doesn’t take too much to make the thief move on to lower-hanging fruit. The Club and facial recognition are deterrents, not foolproof safeguards.

Layers:
Just because my house has locks on the doors and windows, doesn't mean I'm in favor of dissolving the police department.

The danger is that the technology will be seen as all the device owner needs to do to be safe. That isn’t the case. Serdar Yegulalp at Byte has it about right in his view that biometrics is best seen as one tool in the security tool chest:

There's ways to fix the facial unlock function to make it more useful. Schneier mentions in his piece how fingerprint readers could be programmed to prevent cheating by detecting a pulse or a pore pattern. Facial unlock, likewise, could be reprogrammed to only work if the person winks or smiles - two things a photo definitely can't do.

There are those who object to biometric identity management measures on aesthetic grounds. That's fine. There's no accounting for taste. The argument that because biometric security applications are imperfect as stand-alone solutions they are useless is, however, without merit.