Now you can log in to your bank account by looking at your phone: TSB launches iris scanning on its mobile app

  • Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ customers can use the phone's built-in iris scanner
  • From September customers can use it to log into their account on the app
  • Bank says biometric authentication is the safest as it uses 266 unique characters
  • Fingerprint technology, also used in the app, has just 40 unique characters
  • It will become the first bank in Europe to roll out this technology

By JAMES SALMON FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Published: | Updated:

Bank customers will soon be able to log in to their account just by looking at their phone.

High street lender TSB has said it will introduce iris recognition on its mobile banking app in September.

It will become the first bank in Europe to roll out this technology, in the latest attempt to crack down on bank fraud.

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To use the new way of accessing their TSB account, customers will need the latest Samsung Galaxy S8. Samsung added iris scanning to it security options, alongside face recognition and fingerprint scanning, when the phone was released earlier this year 

To use the new way of accessing their TSB account, customers will need the latest Samsung Galaxy S8. Samsung added iris scanning to it security options, alongside face recognition and fingerprint scanning, when the phone was released earlier this year 

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

To use the new way of accessing their TSB account, customers will need the latest Samsung Galaxy S8.  

Samsung added iris scanning to it security options, alongside face recognition and fingerprint scanning, when the phone was released earlier this year.

Users have to register their irises by holding the phone up to their face for a couple of seconds until it detects them.

From September, they will then be able to log in by simply looking at the phone.

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From September, TSB customers with a Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be able to use the phone's built-in iris scanner in order to log into their account on the mobile app by glancing at their phone, instead of inputting an ID and password.

The bank says this form of biometric authentication is the most secure as it uses 266 unique characters compared to 40 for fingerprints - which can also still be used to log in to the TSB app.

The bank's chief information officer Carlos Abarca said the system is easy to use and offers an ‘unparalleled level of cyber security’.

‘Iris recognition allows you to unlock your TSB mobile app with a simple glance, meaning all of those IDs, passwords and memorable information become a thing of the past', he said. 

'As well as a more customer-friendly approach to identification, iris recognition is also the most secure method of authentication available today.’

Iris scanners are expected to follow fingerprint scanners in becoming commonplace on smartphones - Samsung first introduced the scanner on the doomed Galaxy Note 7 last year, before adding the system to its flagship smartphone, the S8, which launched earlier this year.

However, cyber security experts have warned that while using new forms of security should be encouraged, it should not be assumed that biometric passwords and log-ins are totally secure.

TSB users have to register their irises with a Sumsung Galaxy S8 to use the service from September. They will then be able to log in by simply looking at the phone (stock)

TSB users have to register their irises with a Sumsung Galaxy S8 to use the service from September. They will then be able to log in by simply looking at the phone (stock)

German hackers were recently able to trick a Samsung Galaxy S8's iris scanner with a picture of the device owner's eye and a contact lens.

Samsung insisted it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances, where someone had access to both the phone and a high definition photo of its owner's eye, to beat its system.

The same month HSBC's voice recognition security system was fooled by a journalist

Richard Parris, chief executive of IT security firm Intercede, said: ‘Biometrics is fast becoming the de facto security measure for a wide range of business and consumer applications. 

'But biometric authentication is not entirely immune to potential attack and therefore should not be relied on as the sole means of verifying a user.’

...BUT IS IT SAFE? 

Samsung has said the its Galaxy S8's iris scanning provides users with 'airtight security'.

But researchers have demonstrated that it can be easily bypassed using a photograph and a contact lens.

A video earlier this year revealed that hackers can place a contact lens over a printed photo of the smartphone owner's eye to unlock the handset.

Although Samsung has noted that 'the patterns in your irises are unique to you and are virtually impossible to replicate' the makeshift eye is able to fool the technology - leaving many to wonder just how secure the technology really is.  

Samsung insisted it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances, where someone had access to both the phone and a high definition photo of its owner's eye, to beat its system.

The discovery was made by researchers, or as they call themselves, 'hackers', at the Chaos Computer Club.  

The hack was carried out in a matter of minutes, starting with capturing a picture of the user's eye.

Using 'a good digital with 200mm-lens' at about 16 feet (5m) from the phone owner, the team snapped the picture and then printed it out with a laser print that so was also manufactured by Samsung.

But to make it look more realistic, the hackers thought of adding a contact lens on top of the print out – this 'emulated the curvature of a real eye's surface'.

And when he held up the photo in front of the iris scanner, the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone instantly unlocked.

'We are aware of the issue, but we would like to assure our customers that the iris scanning technology in the Galaxy S8 has been developed through rigorous testing to provide a high level of accuracy and prevent attempts to compromise its security, such as images of a person's iris,' a Samsung spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

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Some security experts believe that biometric technology should be used in conjunction with a PIN number to beef up security, even if this makes it slightly less easy to log into a bank account.

Etienne Greeff, co-founder of cyber security firm SecureData also warned of the implications for consumers should their account still be hacked. 

‘What happens when your biometric security settings are hacked? You can't change your voice, you can't replace your eyes, you can't reset your fingerprints', he said. 

‘It's good to see businesses like TSB looking to replace passwords, which are flimsy and easily breached, but hackers are wise to biometrics and it won't stop them from trying to get their hands on your data'.

But TSB's Carlos Abarca said he was confident in the security of iris scanning. 

‘There's no security option that is absolutely perfect', he said. 

'We're relying not only on the biometrics but the digital certificate on the phone. To fake your eyeball is potentially possible - but it is extremely difficult.’

Facial recognition and iris scanning is in use at automated passport control systems in various parts of the world.

Fingerprint scanning which arrived on Apple's iPhone in 2013 and is now a feature of many Android smartphones allows millions of users to pay for anything from a cup of coffee to a train journey by touching their phone.

 

 

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