Why shouldn't MS Fingerprint reader not be used to protect sensitive data?

[anonymous]

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/features/fingerprint.mspx
last paragraph.

Frustrated with the bounty of passwords, I thought the fingerprint reader
would be a good idea for important passwords, like the ones for financial
data. Why not?

 

[Bob I]

Cause it's way too easy to spoof/curcumvent them.

 

[JerryMouse]

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/features/fingerprint.mspx
last paragraph.

Frustrated with the bounty of passwords, I thought the fingerprint
reader would be a good idea for important passwords, like the ones
for financial data. Why not?

The do-bads will cut off your finger to gain access.

 

[Al Dykes]

The do-bads will cut off your finger to gain access.

Can't speak to the MS device (this is the first I've heard of it)
but a fingerprint reader made by another company claims to address
this problem. I didn't have the stomach to ask for details.

I don't know how a fingerprint reader could block replay of data.

Take a look at this;

http://www.rsasecurity.com/node.asp?id=1157

 

[Bob I]

Can't speak to the MS device (this is the first I've heard of it)
but a fingerprint reader made by another company claims to address
this problem. I didn't have the stomach to ask for details.

I don't know how a fingerprint reader could block replay of data.

Take a look at this;

http://www.rsasecurity.com/node.asp?id=1157

The "cold finger" problem is easily circumvented with an infra red source, see light bulb, halogen or otherwise

 

[Alexander Grigoriev]

Remember "Die another day"? they cut the palm off with a laser.

 

[Alexander Grigoriev]

The main part of identity is a mind. The one who remembers things and makes
decisions. Even a live finger doesn't constitute an identity.

 

[Barry Watzman]

ATM machines in South Africa use fingerprints instead of pin numbers.
When the business of cutting off fingers first occured (yes, it did
happen a few times), the readers were modified to only work with a
"live" finger.

Really, in any normal application, this is a non-issue. If someone is
holding a gun to your head, you are likely to tell them your password.
Most of us, however, are not trying to deal with a "threat environment"
that even encompasses lethal force and physical violence.