Fingerprint sensors developed by human interface solutions firm Synaptics have been selected by Acer for its popular Switch 5 PCs.The Acer Switch 5 is a 2-in-1 PC featuring Synaptics' fingerprint reader built directly into the power button.”Acer takes security very seriously and we are proud to offer a robust solution that protects users while providing the convenience of password-free biometric authentication,” said James Lin, general manager, Commercial & Detachable Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “Working with Synaptics, we were able to implement a highly-secure fingerprint sensor on the Switch 5's power button by leveraging their industry-leading technology.” Earlier this month, senior staff from Synaptics said that sensors on laptops need more security that smartphone sensors. Synaptics, which makes fingerprint identification sensors and touchpad technology, said that some computer makers, seeking to save about 25 cents per machine, have chosen to use insecure smartphone fingerprint sensors instead of more secure laptop sensors.Godfrey Cheng, vice president of product for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, said in an interview with VentureBeat: “Fingerprint identification has taken off because it is secure and convenient when it's done right,” he said. “When it's not secure all of the way through, then that's an exposure that an attacker can exploit.”The smartphone fingerprint sensors typically use unencrypted methods to store and send the fingerprint to a central processing unit (CPU) for processing. That makes the data vulnerable to snooping software and other hacks. Synaptics sensors, by contrast, use encryption and a secondary host processor to do the recognition work.That encryption makes it a lot harder for hackers to copy the fingerprint and use it to unlock a computer remotely, Cheng said. Synaptics will demo the fingerprint insecurity at the Computex trade show in Taiwan this week.

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