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| Iris scanners are widely recognised as one of the most secure biometric security measures |
Security
researchers have discovered a way to replicate a person's eye to bypass
iris-scanning security systems.
A team at
the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid was able to recreate the image of an iris
from digital codes of real irises stored in security databases.
The
findings were shared at the annual Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas.
It raises
doubts over what is considered to be one of the most secure methods of
biometric security.
Researcher
Javier Galbally and his team, which included researchers from West Virginia
University, were able to print out synthetic images of irises.
In one
experiment, the researchers tested their fake irises against a leading
commercial-recognition system. In 80% of attempts, they said, the scanner
believed it was a real eye.
While
researchers have been able to create realistic iris images for some time, it is
thought that this is the first instance where the fake image can be generated
from the iris code of a real person - a method which could be used to steal
someone's identity.
An iris
code is the data stored by recognition systems when it scans a person's eye. It
contains around 5,000 different pieces of information.
Digital WMD
The
research was explained to an audience at the annual Black Hat conference, a
meeting of the leading figures in IT security from across the world.
Shawn
Henry, the former head of the FBI's cybercrime unit, gave a key speech at the
event.
He urged
security experts to counter-attack in their attempts to stamp out criminal
activity.
"We
need warriors to fight our enemies, particularly in the cyber world right
now," he told his audience.
"I
believe the threat from computer network attack is the most significant threat
we face as a civilised world, other than a weapon of mass destruction."
He called
on the computer security industry to begin looking at ways of gathering
intelligence on possible attacks and attackers, rather than seeking simply to
block them when they happen.
"It is
not enough to watch the perimeter," Mr Henry said.
"We
have to be constantly hunting, looking for tripwires.
"Intelligence
is the key to all of this. If we understand who the adversary is, we can take
specific actions."
Apple
appearance
For the
first time, Apple representatives will be speaking at the Black Hat event.
The company
is expected to outline security features in the coming release of its latest
mobile operating system, iOS.
The
appearance comes at a crucial time for Apple. Earlier in the year, the
company's Mac range suffered a malware attack, with more than 500,000 machines
infected.
The fallout
put a dent in Apple's reputation for producing computers that were safe from the
kind of attacks which are common on PCs.
According
to Black Hat's general manager Trey Ford, Apple was scheduled to appear at the
event in 2008, but pulled out after the company's marketing team intervened.
"Bottom
line - no-one at Apple speaks without marketing approval," Mr Ford wrote
in an email quoted by Bloomberg.
"Apple
will be at Black Hat 2012, and marketing is on board."
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