Vietnamese researcher demonstrates iPhoneX Face ID hack

A researcher in Vietnam claims to have fooled Apple's face recognition ID software on its new iPhone X using a mask made with a 3D printer, silicone and paper tape.

On Friday, the researcher a from a Vietnamese cybersecurity firm, claimed to have cracked Apple's Face ID, and a subsequent video apparently showing an iPhone being unlocked when pointed at a mask, drew some scepticism. Ngo Tuan Anh, vice president of anti-virus software maker Bkav Corporation, demonstrated the exploit to Reuters a number of times, first unlocking the phone with his face and then by using the mask.

The approach appeared to work each time.

However, he declined to register a user ID and the mask on the phone from scratch as, he said, the iPhone and mask need to be placed at very specific angles, and the mask needed to be refined, a process he said could take up to nine hours.

Offering no comment, Apple asked journalists to visit a page on its website that explains how Face ID works. The page says the probability of a random person unlocking another user's phone with their face was approximately 1-in-a-million, as against 1-in-50,000 for the previously used fingerprint scanner. It also added Face ID allows only five unsuccessful match attempts before a passcode is required.

In another video, a 10-year-old can be seen unlocking his mom's iPhone X with ease. According to commentators, this meant, the Face ID failed to distinguish between the facial features of the kid and his mom.

They further point out that while the kid and his mom do look quite alike, the kid could be considered as one in a million.

Apple says kids under 12 have a better chance of fooling the Face ID feature "because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed."