Hackers Bypass Galaxy S8 Iris Recognition Using Printed Photo

German hackers from Chaos Computer Club tricked the iris scanner on the Galaxy S8. They managed to unlock the phone with the help of a printed photo and a contact lens, which means almost anyone can bypass Samsung’s security system and get access to the phone and sensitive data stored on it.

The hackers took a photo of the phone owner’s eye, printed it on a laser printer, and used the contact lens to trick the iris scanner of the Galaxy S8. Surprisingly, the phone recognized the fake eye from the first attempt, giving access to the data and settings, including Samsung Pay preferences.

Chaos Computer Club recommends to use traditional PIN codes to protect the phone, since it takes more time and effort to crack that one. As it turns out, the iris scanner, just like the face or fingerprint scanner, can be tricked using relatively simple methods.

Apple’s iPhone 8 is expected to feature an iris scanner, but hopefully it will be more reliable than the one used in the galaxy S8.

[via MacRumors]