A German collective claims it has taken a bite out of Apple's fingerprint-scanning security system after just one weekend of hacking.

If the hack is real and is simple to replicate, then the Chaos Computer Club will be $25,000 richer.

That's because while the world’s technophiles have been lining up to buy the new iPhone 5S, another group has been queuing up in order to hack its fingerprint-scanning capabilities.

As soon as the rumors were confirmed and the latest flagship iPhone was revealed sporting something called Touch ID -- a high-resolution biometric scanner built into the device's home key for extra security -- a site called "Is touch ID hacked yet?" sprung up, offering cash and other gifts to the first hacker to successfully crack the scanner and provide proof of the exploit.

By Saturday, the prize pot -- to which anyone can donate via Twitter --  had already passed the $25,000 mark. In addition to cash, bottles of bourbon, fine wines and even bitcoins had also been pledged as prizes for the lucky winner.

Now the German-based Chaos Computer Club has claimed that it has succeeded in circumventing Apple's Touch ID in order to access an iPhone.A video of the collective's hack is currently being processed by the site to see if it is legitimate and, more importantly, if it is a simple and easily duplicated exploit.

The founders of "Is touch ID hacked yet" have been very clear that in order for the prize to be won, the hack has to be as simple as lifting a fingerprint from a beer glass.

To this end, @erdgeist, one of the club's members tweeted that the most difficult part of the hack was actually trying to get hold of an iPhone 5S.

Whether the Chaos Computer Club wins or loses, iPhone 5S owners shouldn't panic: biometric scanners such as Apple's much-hyped Touch ID have the potential to eradicate the traditional password from consumers' daily lives and replace it with something simpler, yet stronger and more secure and it is this promise that inspired the competition.

And it is only by testing for vulnerabilities and then repairing them, that biometrics can really start to take over.