29 Dec Malicious Apps Able to Use Phone Sensor Data to Guess Phone PIN
Earlier this month, researchers from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) discovered that sensor data on modern smartphones can be used by malicious apps to gather sensitive information about the user, and even use it to guess the PIN number on the device.
By creating and using a custom app which collects data from a phone’s accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, proximity sensor, barometer, and ambient light sensor, the researchers were able to guess a phone’s PIN with accuracy from 83.7% up to 99.5%.
The issue affects both Android and iOS devices. Related studies were able to get the same results in the past and the NTU team says that the flaw could be weaponized in several other ways.
Source: Bleeping Computer
