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Interview question · Mobile Application Security

How do hardware-backed keys work on Android and iOS, what does key attestation prove, and why must biometrics unlock a key, not a boolean?

A key the app cannot export is only half the story. The other half is making the key usable only after the user is really present, which a hooked 'authentication succeeded' callback can fake.

hardNewPreparation tags: Google, Apple, JPMorgan ChaseUpdated Nov 2026

A key the app cannot export is only half the story. The other half is making the key usable only after the user is really present, which a hooked 'authentication succeeded' callback can fake.

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What would you say before reading the answer?

  1. 01 State the assumptions your answer depends on.
  2. 02 Explain the mechanism and choose a control.
  3. 03 Name a condition that would change your decision.

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What if · the follow-ups in this answer

The answer works through 6 follow-ups like an interviewer would

A payments app wants biometric confirmation before authorising transfers.

  1. Where are hardware-backed keys created?
  2. Why bind biometrics to a key?
  3. How should transfer authorisation work?
  4. What if biometrics change?
  5. What remains outside this control?
  6. What design would you implement?

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