New Brute-Force Attack Threatens Android Phone Security
Chinese researchers have discovered a brute-force attack called BrutePrint that can bypass the fingerprint lock on Android smartphones by using two zero-day vulnerabilities. The attack was tested on ten popular smartphone models and was able to perform an unlimited number of fingerprint login attempts on Android and HarmonyOS phones. However, iOS devices fared much better, allowing just ten additional attempts on the iPhone SE and iPhone 7, bringing the total to 15, which isn't enough for a brute-force attack. The technique could find use with law enforcement and state-sponsored actors.