Hackers may soon find a new way into getting personal and sensitive information from you without you noticing it.
A group of researchers have created a malware that is able to read passwords, your phone numbers and other sensitive data in your phone using your device’s built-in motion sensors.
According to Zhi Xu of Pennsylvania University, “The fundamental problem here is that sensing is unmanaged on existing smartphone platforms.”
He warned smartphone users that there is a risk from your phone’s integrated motion sensors. He added that this cannot be corrected unless the OS developers will do fundamental changes to it.
The “TapLogger” app brands itself as a game of Androids. What this app actually does is monitor your reading by the phone’s built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and orientation sensors to infer phone number and other digits that are entered into the device.
Xu added, “TapLogger shows that those unmanaged ‘insensitive sensors’ can really be used to infer very sensitive user information. Inspired by TapLogger, we believe that more and more sensor-based attackers will be introduced in the near future.”
The TapLogger app works by using your phone’s motion sensors to record changes of orientation as a user enters numbers to unlock your phone, when you dial a number or provide your social security information during a call.
Better watch what you install to your device.
Image Source: 2012smartphones.com
