
Why Apple Bought AuthenTec: It Needed NFC Fingerprint Sensors, Quickly - rkudeshi
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/08/16/the-real-reason-apple-acquired-authentec-because-needed-new-technology-quickly-products/
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PanMan
I don't believe at all that Apple was still developing hardware features in
July on the iPhone which will ship this fall, only a few months later.

After buying some mapping companies, it took them over a year before they
released their first product which included maps. Integrating new, never seen,
hardware components in the iPhone sounds harder, not easier, than generating
maps (something that is possible with fully open software).

I'm sure Apple has plans with the company they bought, but I'm certain we
won't see them before 2013.

~~~
jdlshore
Another possibility could be that Apple has developed some key feature that
infringes an Authentec patent, and only realized it recently.

~~~
CountSessine
Yet another possibility is that they have a feature in the new iPhone that
possibly infringes on a Google or Samsung patent, and they want to buy
Authentec's patent portfolio as ammunition in cross-licensing negotiations.

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lnanek2
I have mixed feelings about AuthenTec fingerprint scanners in Apple products.
One on hand, I had an IBM keyboard with a scanner and it was terrible. Rarely
worked right, often took 3 or more swipes, was just easier to enter my
password. On the other hand, if any company would make sure the product
actually works before putting it in, it's Apple.

I also absolutely hate how often Apple prompts me for my password. I think I
was playing a game on my iPhone the other day and I had to enter my password
like 5 times over. Don't remember exactly, but it was something like once to
"buy" it even though it had been bought on another device, another time to
login to GameCenter or something, a couple other times to buy some coins or
something. Very annoying. So if they insist on checking password so often,
this is something they desperately need - and need to get working better than
past hardware.

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pc86
I have one big problem with fingerprint authentication (really, any sort of
biometric authentication).

If I lose my password I can reset it. If I give out my password, either
accidentally or under duress, I can change it. If someone wants something so
badly as to copy (or take) a fingerprint, there's no way for me to "change"
that password.

~~~
rogerbinns
Lenovo Thinkpads have (optionally) Authentec sensors. The way it works is that
the fingerprints are stored in the sensor itself. Also stored is a password
(or equivalent). Swiping the appropriate finger then makes the password
available. Consequently you can either provide the password or the
fingerprint. It really is just a shortcut to providing the password. (Note
that all other sensor manufacturers are effectively just a cheap scanner - the
image processing and "authentication" are all done in the host software.)

On the most recent Thinkpads you can swipe your finger to power on the device,
get past the password protected BIOS, unlock ATA password locked drives, boot
and login to Windows. (Or you can enter your password 3 times.)

The sensor requires a swipe unlike large form sensors where you effectively
leave your fingerprint behind. This is definitely an improvement.

Fingerprint data can also be loaded for use outside of the boot process, such
as an "Enterprise" where you want to manage multiple systems and allow
centrally managed logins. Authentec also makes client software that keeps your
passwords (think ones stored by the browser) in a vault with access controlled
by fingerprint or master password.

In this whole scenario fingerprints can be revoked by deleting them from the
sensor or management software. However you only have ten prints before you run
out. You can be observed unknowingly so passwords can also be compromised just
like with latent fingerprints. It is up to someone to decide if the security
tradeoffs of the Authentec scanner are acceptable. For the record I do use it
on my laptop.

But I'm actually a Linux user so I can only it for BIOS power on and ATA drive
unlock, but not Linux authentication. Authentec do not document their
protocols or provide evidence of their security. Small subsets have been
reverse engineered (see libfprint).

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roc
> _"If AuthenTec was developing a technology for Apple’s new products, would
> the deal need to have been completed “quickly” if it wasn’t going to be used
> in devices launching later this year"_

Isn't presenting and cultivating a sense of urgency one of the older and more
well-understood of sales strategies?

By proposing a tight deadline Apple could simply have been trying to narrow
Authentic's perceived options down to "negotiate with Apple on final price"
rather than "fish for competitive bids".

Similarly the change of focus from sale back to licensing may have been
designed to rattle Authentec's negotiators. A traditional sale, upon finding a
due diligence concern, simply waits until the concern is resolved.

Apple's switching focus back to licensing is consistent with trying to
emotionally rattle Authentec's negotiators, who likely considered the sale
'all but done' at that point and dissuade Authentec shareholders from further
dickering over price, as it presents Apple as perfectly willing to walk away
from the sale.

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fuzzythinker
I'll say it's for future ipads for palm rejection and ipad mini's thumb
rejection.

~~~
taligent
Possibly but doubt it. Not enough of a major selling point.

My guess is multi user support and not just for iPads, iPhones but also for
the upcoming Apple TV remote. It would be integrated either into the home
button or possibly a swipe up from the bottom lip.

~~~
fuzzythinker
Interesting thought! It's a very Apple way to handle user auth, no need for a
switch user/login screen.

