Can Next Gen Phones Deliver Next Gen Security?

　　We're deeply connected to our phones, and keeping them safe and secure is critical, which is why I'm glad to see companies starting to add advanced security options to new phones. From Motorola to Apple, built-in security features might be more common in future devices.
　　Biometrics In Your Hand
　　In the past, we've looked at some rather exotic efforts to bring multi-factor authentication and biometrics into the smartphone experience. The trick is that many of them often require secondary devices, or unusual user interaction.
　　Apple might change all that with an expected forthcoming refresh to the iPhone line. If you believe the rumors, then the next iteration of the iPhone might feature a fingerprint reader embedded into a sapphire-coated Home button.
　　If true, this could go a long way toward securing iPhone users. For one thing, using the Home button is an established iPhone user operation; people won't have to learn a new trick to make it work. For another, the most common way to secure an iPhone is with a four-digit PIN. You can opt to use a far more complex passphrase lock, but hardly anyone does. Fingerprint scanning could be a dead-simple way to stay secure.
　　Perhaps more importantly, an embedded fingerprint scanner could allow app developers to incorporate tighter security into their apps. Imagine, if you will, logging into your bank with a finger print (and then also a two-factor security code, just to be safe). With Apple putting passwords on the cloud with iOS 7, more security sounds good to me.
　　Skip a PIN
　　On the Android side of the house, Motorola announced a new accessoryfor their Moto X phone called the Skip. I've already got some issues with the Moto X, and the Skip seems like an interesting—if problematic—tool. It's basically an NFC clip that you wear on your clothes that takes the place of a PIN code. When you need to unlock your Moto X, just tap it against the Skip and voila! Your phone "skips" the PIN code and is unlocked.
　　In addition to the Skip clip, Motorola is providing Skip dots—or stickers that provide the same unlocking function of the Skip. The idea is that these create "zones" where you can interact with the phone, specifically the voice-activated Google Now features (which I still find kind of creepy).
　　It's unclear to me if the Skip is actually more secure than using only a PIN code. Setting aside any kind of bizarre near-field attacks, you can still unlock the phone with a PIN code as a backup so it's not a radically more complex method of securing the phone.
　　What it might do is encourage more users to use a PIN code in the first place, and keep their phones locked. In my discussions with security experts, I'm frequently told that the number of Android users that simply leave their phones unsecured is disconcertingly large. With Skip and Skip dots, PINs might be less of a hurdle for users.
　　Looking Ahead
　　We spend a lot of time on SecurityWatch considering how to handle worst-case scenarios, rather than preventing them. Personally, I've been pleased to see phone manufacturers start taking a more proactive security stance, particularly for the physical security of devices. Google launching the Android Device Manager last week, and rumored updates to the iPhone warm the cockles of my heart.
　　But it's still just a start. Biometrics haven't made significant inroads on any device, and forthcoming technologies like Google Glass still seem a long way from being secure. Hopefully, the brains behind the electronic toys will continue baking in device security.