The Independent
Security researchers from the US have shown that gadgets such as Google Glass can be used to covertly record PIN codes from distances of 10 feet – even if the target display is hidden from view.
Wired reports that the research team led by Professor Xinwen Fu of the University of Massachusetts Lowell used software that analysed the shadows and movements of peoples’ fingers in order to decipher PIN codes entered into tablets and smartphones.
A range of devices were tested including Google Glass (which recently went on sale in the UK), an iPhone 5, a Samsung smartwatch and a Logitech webcam. Video captured by Glass produced a correct four digit PIN from three metres away with 83 per cent accuracy (this was improved to more than 90 per cent with manual corrections) while the webcam was accurate 92 per cent of the time.
Similar software has been created in the past (including an iOS app) but this is the first instance of technology that can decipher PINS even when the display is unreadable. Fu explains that it does this by creating a reference image of the iPad’s screen and mapping the target’s finger movements onto this.
Read more
Security researchers from the US have shown that gadgets such as Google Glass can be used to covertly record PIN codes from distances of 10 feet – even if the target display is hidden from view.
Wired reports that the research team led by Professor Xinwen Fu of the University of Massachusetts Lowell used software that analysed the shadows and movements of peoples’ fingers in order to decipher PIN codes entered into tablets and smartphones.
A range of devices were tested including Google Glass (which recently went on sale in the UK), an iPhone 5, a Samsung smartwatch and a Logitech webcam. Video captured by Glass produced a correct four digit PIN from three metres away with 83 per cent accuracy (this was improved to more than 90 per cent with manual corrections) while the webcam was accurate 92 per cent of the time.
Similar software has been created in the past (including an iOS app) but this is the first instance of technology that can decipher PINS even when the display is unreadable. Fu explains that it does this by creating a reference image of the iPad’s screen and mapping the target’s finger movements onto this.
Read more
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