Samsung’s new iris scanner can be hacked – leaving its Pay banking function open to cyber crooks
Samsung told customers that the new Galaxy S8's security was 'foolproof'
HACKERS claim to have fooled the Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner.
The Korean phone maker has previously gushed that its brand new smartphone comes with "foolproof security".
The iris scanner is supposed to secure Samsung's new money app, Samsung Pay, which lets people use their smartphone just like a debit or credit card.
But a video shows a group of German cyber experts appearing to unlock it with just a piece of paper and a contact lens.
The Computer Chaos Club tricked the scanner using a photo of a phone owner's eye using an infrared night vision setting on a digital camera.
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In the clip, they print the image off and place a contact lens over the iris.
After holding the eyeball snap up to the handset, the phone appears to unlock.
"If you value the data on your phone - and possibly want to even use it for payment - using the traditional PIN protection is a safer approach than using body features for authentication," said Chaos Computer Club spokesperson, Dirk Engling.
Although Samsung said it is “aware of the issue," its website still claims that users’ irises are "virtually impossible to replicate".
It states: "The patterns in your irises are unique to you and are virtually impossible to replicate, meaning iris authentication is one of the safest ways to keep your phone locked and the contents private."
It's not the first security flop for the flagship device.
The S8’s facial recognition software was shown to be easily compromised after its launch in April.
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