• Automated Shoulder Surfing Makes it Easier to Steal Passwords
    9 replies, posted
Source: [url]http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/15/automated-shoulder-surfing-makes-it-easier-to-steal-passwords-i/[/url] [quote]Here's something mildly terrifying to chew on: researchers in Italy have developed a way to automatically harvest anything you type on your smartphone's touchscreen, using only a camera placed over your shoulder. The software, created by Federico Maggi and his team from the Politecnico di Milano, takes advantage of the magnified touchscreen keys you'll find on most iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices. Because these magnifications often pop up in predictable positions, the spying system can recognize and record them with relative ease, with the help of a camera aimed at a targeted display. And it's not like bobbing and weaving around will help evade its watchful eye, since the apparatus can instantly detect sudden movements and adjust its gaze accordingly. Researchers say their tool is capable of accurately recognizing up to 97 percent of all keystrokes and is fast enough to transmit copied passwords in "quasi real-time," which must be music to a lazy criminal's ears. Tiptoe past the break to see the beast in action and spend the rest of your life in an everlasting state of fear.[/quote] Oh fuck.
[quote]using only a camera placed over your shoulder.[/quote] Well, that makes it somewhat harder. I wonder how fast you'd have to type to reduce accuracy. At least it's not an NSA van 200 meters down the street detecting keystrokes via electromagnetic fluctuations in the line.
Good luck trying that on my Android phone though. I'm already touch typing on it, which means I'm typing in a way that blocks the majority of the keyboard. Not to mention I'd probably spot a guy trying to do this.
Bah, far too conspicuous for my tastes.
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;31136255]Bah, far too conspicuous for my tastes.[/QUOTE] At least it's better than "If you log into your account through our services, we'll do XYZ for you! Really! Promise! It's totally legit man! Find out who your girlfriend is cheating with/who has a secret crush on you"
in other news. do not share your credit card key on internet forums, it might be dangerous
Good thing I will probably never use a smartphone.
I normally let people use their video cameras over my shoulder anyway.
The real issue here is that if they have a camera that can film down from over your shoulder, why aren't they filming down women's tops and posting it online where I can see it?
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;31139343]The real issue here is that if they have a camera that can film down from over your shoulder, why aren't they filming down women's tops and posting it online where I can see it?[/QUOTE] Pretty sure there are porn sites that do this already.
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