The first note I sent out after Apple announced it was including a fingerprint scanner in the new iPhone 5s was to Charlie Miller.
Miller, who learned how to hack at the National Security Agency and now works in security for Twitter, has hacked connected cars, wireless connections and NFC devices. But what he's best known for — what he seems to enjoy more than almost anything else — is hacking into Apple.
So I was curious. If Apple is rolling out a fingerprint scanner as a way to replace passwords, exactly how long would it be until Miller got to work trying to figure out how to exploit the system?
It is undeniable that passwords are only a half-effective form of security. They are a pain. Apple says roughly half of iPhone users don't even bother to set them up. Your password could be guessed, broken with brute force or stolen.
No one will mourn the end of the password, which no doubt is why Apple is pinning its hopes for the 5s to a fingerprint scanning system, called Touch ID, that could make passwords obsolete.
Apple spent more than $350 million to buy AuthenTec last year. AuthenTec owned a number of security patents, including some covering fingerprint scans.
But Apple isn't the first smartphone manufacturer to try this — and fingerprint scanning isn't foolproof.
In 2011 Motorola release a phone with a scanner. Joshua Topolsky, then writing for Engadget, had this to say:
"As far as truly unique hardware goes, the fingerprint scanner seems fairly novel — but in practice it's a little frustrating. It does work as advertised, but being told to re-swipe your finger if it doesn't take when you're trying to get into the phone quickly can be a little bothersome. Unless you really need the high security, a standard passcode will suffice for most people."