Have hackers become cannier or has technology has not evolved enough to limit cyber-attacks? Don’t know which of the two is the case in the Internet Age! Despite the rapid technological advancements and innovations, cyber culprits still manage to exasperate security researchers time and again. Recently cyber experts at New Castle University have warned us that hackers can easily figure out your smartphone’s Pin or passwords via motion sensors. And this piece of information can be used by hackers to further exploit our privacy.
Also Read: Will VPNs Protect You from ISPs’ Surveillance?
Well, as more and more of our personal data is stored on smartphones, the ways of securing those phones continue to be revealed as less and less robust. Next on the chopping board comes your phone’s PIN. Despite the threat, the research shows that people are unaware of the risks and most of us have little idea what the majority of the twenty-five different sensors available on current smart phones do.
How It Is Possible?
As sensors are common to smart devices, experts have unveiled how easy it is for malicious websites and installed apps to spy on you. Most of our smartphone or tablets come equipped with a multitude of motion sensors. Hackers take a fair advantage and develop malicious programs which covertly listen in on your sensor data and use it to discover a wide range of sensitive information about you such as phone call timing, physical activities and even your touch actions, PINs and passwords.
Also Read: Your Mac Is Not as Secure as You Think – Here Are the Reasons
Can these Sensors Pry on our Browsers Too?
Yes, it’s worrying for browsers part as well! Like, if you open a page on any web browser which hosts one of these malicious code, then hackers can spy on every personal detail you enter. You don’t even need to click any suspicious links or download a strange file to accidentally leak your taps to a malicious hacker. These silent assassinators named as Motion Sensors are enough to get you into trouble.
Privacy Guidelines
Dr Mehrnezhad, Senior Security expert at Newcastle University states some simple rules people should follow in order to keep their privacy intact:
- Make sure you change PINs and passwords regularly so malicious websites can’t start to recognize a pattern.
- Close background apps when you are not using them and uninstall apps you no longer need.
- Keep your phone operating system and apps up to date.
- Only install applications from approved app stores.
- Audit the permissions that apps have on your phone.
- Scrutinize the permission requested by apps before you install them and choose alternatives with more sensible permissions if needed.
Also Read: 8 Ways to Secure Your Android Device
The battle for Security has begun! Technology is not just growing for users, but for cyber hijackers as well. After camera, fake links and GPS; who knew a day would come when our motion sensors could reveal our phone’s password too. This case depicts one unfortunate metaphor, with each passing day how hackers are invading our private lives by adapting to new techniques and weapons.
Beware of Threat, and let your personal life stay “Personal”!
