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(Image: Apple; live stream)
Face ID is one of the most attention-grabbing new features of the upcoming iPhone X, but there are serious questions about whether it can keep your device secure.
The feature uses facial biometrics to determine if you’re the authorized owner of the phone. Face ID will replace the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the phone. Biometrics have been added to phones and tablets in recent years, in part because they’re perceived to be more secure than passcodes.
In reality, whether your fingerprint or face is stronger than your passcode entirely depends on your threat model.
An individual’s threat model is, simply put, a determination of your own vulnerabilities. Knowing the weak points in your defenses and the types of targets who would try to attack you makes it easier to know how to guard against them.
Everyone’s threat model is different. A high school teacher will likely face different threats than someone working from a busy cafe or airport, or than an intelligence agency employee working on classified missions.
In the context of owning a phone, the main focus should be preventing unauthorized access to your data.
Your phone stores some of the most personal things in your life, knowing what your threat model is can determine what kind of security feature you need to prevent the most likely attack.
For the vast majority of Americans, the biggest threat is having your phone stolen by an opportunistic thief in a bar or from a bag or purse. Having a phone that requires the thief to realize the phone is locked, run back and hold up the stolen phone to the owner’s face to gain access to the goods on the device is incredibly unlikely to happen.
You may be without a phone but at least your data is safe.
But others, like reporters, lawyers, or activists, may be subject to different conditions. They could be arrested or detained, either by police or at the border of a foreign country where the law permits a law enforcement officer to search your phone.
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