The iPhone X is the first iPhone on the market with Face ID facial recognition technology. When Apple was detailing this feature, it said that even Hollywood-quality face masks can’t fool the Face ID. A security firm has come up with a proof of concept which shows that it’s possible to fool Face ID with a mask, but it’s not necessarily going to be a security risk for the average user.
Researchers at the security firm Bkav have claimed that they can fool Face ID with a custom-made mask. The mask was not created with a focus on realism. It has been developing with the specific aim of fooling Face ID’s depth-mapping technology.
The mask is made of hand-crafted “skin” with the face model being 3D printed on top of it. The parts such as eyes are 2D images. The video shows that this proof of concept works.
The researchers claim that no cheats were involved in this concept. Face ID was configured with a real person’s face and that the mask was able to fool it.
The firm doesn’t say how many false starts were encountered before a mask that unlocks it in a single try was created. Bkav used $150 in supplies and created the mask in about five days.
While this proof of concept shows that something like this can work, it clear that this isn’t a security risk for the average user. Unless you’re a high profile celebrity, businessman or politician, it’s unlikely that someone would go through so much to build a custom mask just to unlock an average user’s iPhone X.