Booze and Cash for iPhone Fingerprint Hackers

Hackers worldwide are competing for booze, cash and other tempting awards to crack the new iPhone`s fingerprint scanner, according to Reuters. Besides $13,000, hackers who find vulnerabilities will receive Bitcoins, books, wine and whiskey.

Security expert David Kennedy is one of those participating in the hacking contest.

“I am just waiting to get my hands on it to figure out how to get around it first,” Kennedy recently told Reuters. “I’ll be up all night trying.”

The novel competition was created by a micro venture capital firm with a group of security researchers. Columnist Violet Blue is one of those offering awards for the one who breaks the new Apple device. The author tempted hackers with $100, a dirty sex book, and a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon.

“This is to fix a problem before it becomes a problem,” Arturas Rosenbacher, founding partner of Chicago’s IO Capital said. “This will make things safer.” The company donated $10,000 for the hacking competition promoted on the website istouchidhackedyet.com.

A 36-year-old Spanish user living in the Canary Islands has already uncovered a security bug affecting iOS 7, which Apple began distributing on Wednesday. Jose Rodriguez, who works as a driver for government officials, presented the video proof-of-concept that showed how to bypass the lock screen to access photos, email, Twitter and other applications.

An Australian teenager also published images with the alleged “home” button and fingerprint scanner of the latest iPhone ahead of the launch. The scanner is considered a major step in popularizing the use of biometrics in personal electronics and was allegedly created by Apple to increase data security.

Apple’s new iPhone 5S officially went on sale today, together with the less expensive version 5C. Fans rushed into buying their favorite model, but found the launch day difficult to shop on, according to the Huffington Post.