Fingerprint enabled apps in android for more security
FINGER
PRINT ENBABLED APPS FOR MORE SECURITY
Fingerprint reader was first incorporated in
Motorola Atrix. ATRIX integrates AuthenTec's AES1750 "smart sensor" into its power switch. With this
sensor fingerprints can be used to authenticate the device user, providing a
faster and easier means to unlock the device when compared with the typical
on-screen methods (pattern, PIN, password). Fingerprint reader is
supported in devices supporting android v2.3.4 and above. AuthenTec has created two
separate SDKs to support the fingerprint reader. The "Mobile SDK for Android" is the
more basic of the two. It contains the "LAP" APIs which:
- Verify that the person using your app is the device owner, by requiring them to swipe their finger or enter their PIN
- Verify that one or more finger prints have been set up on the device.
Advanced Mobile SDK from AuthenTec
contains the API from the Mobile SDK for android and includes a set of
“GetSecret” APIs. These additional APIs allow to associate a secret with the
user, like a password/PIN. The API key is needed by an application to register with the
fingerprint framework. This key is based upon your app's package name, ensuring
that only your app will be able to retrieve the secret that it has stored. It
directs as to have a separate key for each app. The Advanced SDK includes the
APIs from the Mobile SDK for Android, apps using this SDK can both verify that
the user of the app is the device's owner as well as store and retrieve secret
data.
Verifying the user
Verification
of user can be written entirely using basic Mobile SDK for Android. It consists
of 2 APIs:
- One to see if any fingerprints have been captured.
- One for checking whether the captured is corresponding to the owner.
This
can be done with the help of GetMap() and Verify() methods. GetMap() method
returns a binary map indicating which fingers are currently registered.
Verify() method prompts the user to swipe a registered finger to verify their
identity.
Getting and setting a secret
The "GetSecret()"
APIs provided by the Advanced SDK are only slightly more complex. They provide
functionality that allows to associate
and then retrieve a "secret" with the user's fingerprints (or PIN).
To use the GetSecret APIs, Advanced SDK is needed along with the API key for
your application, based upon the application's package name. Storing a secret
doesn't require any action on the user's part. The code simply packages the
secret within a Credentialobject and then stores that object.
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