Mothers are wonderful sources of sound advice, like always start your day off with a clean pair of briefs, eat your vegetables, and wash your hands when they’re dirty. On that last bit, we always assumed it was just a sanitary thing, but now we realize how much of a prophet mothers can be, able to see into the future and help us form good habits that could mean the difference between a secure smartphone and compromised security.
In a report titled, “Smudge Attacks on Smartphone Touch Screens,” researchers from the University of Pennsylvania warn that your greasy fingers leave behind a trail that hackers can easily follow to discover your graphical password pattern.
“We believe smudge attacks are a threat for three reasons,” the researchers write. “First, smudges are persistent in time. Second, it is surprisingly difficult to incidentally obscure or delete smudges through wiping or pocketing the device. Third and finally, collecting and analyzing oily residue smudges can be done with readily-available equipment such as a camera and a computer.”
More than just a theoretical threat, the 10-page report goes on to show exactly how easy it is to uncover a graphical password from the leftover residue of oily fingers.
Check out the full report here.
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