In the summer of 2018, a padlock which uses fingerprints instead of a key or passcode was found to be vulnerable to attack. Produced by a Canadian firm called Tapplock, the device is claimed to be the world's first smart fingerprint padlock, but security researcher Andrew Tierney from Pen Test Partners found it could be unlocked in under two seconds - without any fingerprint.

Tierney found that the lock's use of Bluetooth Low Energy, a technology found in a wide range of IoT and smart home devices, was its weakness. This because the lock could be opened with nothing more than its own Bluetooth Low Energy MAC address - which it happens to constantly broadcast.

The researcher then created an Android application which would broadcast the MAC address, allowing him to unlock any Tapplock he approached, in less than two seconds. Tierney described the lack of security as "completely unacceptable," adding: "To be honest, I am lost for words".

As with other incidents like this, Tapplock responded by issuing a software update to improve its lacklustre security. Again, this demonstrates the importance of keeping your IoT devices updated, but also serves as a warning that, no matter how secure a fingerprint system may be, poor design will mean doors are left open elsewhere - in this case, with how the lock's Bluetooth system operates, and even its physical toughness.