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Crack Apple iPhone TouchID feature, win $2500 and a bottle of bourbon

Hackers have banded together and created a prize pool for anyone who can crack Apple's TouchID fingerprint recognition technology.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

If you're a hacker up for a challenge, taking on Apple's iPhone 5s TouchID feature could net you interesting prizes.

Independent security researcher Nick Depetrillo has launched istouchidhackedyet.com, a website dedicated to crowdfunding rewards for the first person who can break into Apple's biometric fingerprint scanning technology.

Depetrillo requires challengers to demonstrate in a video they can lift a fingerprint from any surface -- for example, a beer mug -- reproduce it, and use the print to unlock the Apple iPhone 5s.

The current bounty has reached over $2500, and includes a number of interesting prizes from contributors, including bitcoins, wine, Bulleit Bourbon, "a dirty sex book" and Maker's Mark. Scanning the Twitter hashtag #istouchidhackedyet, donations are still flooding in.

The new iPhone is due to hit stores on Friday. Depetrillo says that the project was not launched due to his wish to see the feature hacked, but he does want to prove how difficult spoofing the sensor will be -- and that biometric technology has moved on in recent years. Depetrillo said:

"Basically people criticized the TouchId sensor as being insecure, thinking it was a typical fingerprint sensor from five years ago. In reality it's a lot harder, and I was part of a vocal minority of security researchers who argued Apple did a good job."

Via: Forbes

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Image credit: Apple

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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