Apple Buys Fingerprint Scanning Company

Apple is acquiring mobile bio-metrics scanning company AuthenTec, according to Reuters. AuthenTec makes biometric sensing chips that are already being used in mobile devices in Japan, including Samsung phones, Apple's biggest rival. From the article:

"In the past 5 years, the growth of iPhone and Android smartphones has made mobile data security essential, not just a 'nice-to-have' feature," said Ben Yu, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures, one of the early investors in AuthenTec. "People have their whole lives on the phones."
AuthenTec's embedded fingerprint scanners and other identity-related software is particularly useful now that Near Field Communications, or NFC-enabled, phones have begun to appear in the market, he added.

Near field communication allows a mobile device to authenticate a purchase without swiping a card. It also opens up a whole new field of hacking. Imagine walking down a New York City street, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, one of whom has a device that allows him to pull money out of accounts of individuals with these devices. Seems absurd, but we'll see. Stick with cash.