Find better ways to unlock your phone
PEOPLE should stop using patterns to unlock their devices, researchers have warned.
A new study has found that it’s a lot easier for people who might be looking over your shoulder as you unlock your phone to memorise a pattern than a passcode.
So-called ‘shoulder surfing attacks’ can be easy for a criminal to plan and execute, but you can protect yourself by switching to a PIN code and increasing its length from four digits to six, the researchers say. They got over 1,000 volunteers to act as attackers, challenging them to memorise a range of unlocking authentications – four- and six-digit PINs, and four- and six-length patterns with and without tracing lines – by watching a victim over their shoulder from a variety of angles. The 5in Nexus 5 and 6in OnePlus One were the two handsets used in the study, as the researchers say they “are similar to a wide variety of displays and form factors available on the market today, for both Android and iPhone”. They also considered single and multiple views for the attacker and two different hand positions for the victim – single-handed thumb input and two-handed index-finger input.
The study found that four-length patterns with visible lines were far easier to crack, as a result of shoulder surfing, than any other type of unlocking authentication they tested.
“We find that PINs are the most secure to shoulder surfing attacks, and while both types of pattern input are poor, patterns without lines provides greater security,” the researchers, from the United States Naval Academy and the University of Maryland, said.
“The length of the input also has an impact; longer authentication is more secure to shoulder surfing. Additionally, if the attacker has multiple-views of the authentication, the attacker’s performance is greatly improved.”
In tests, 10.8% of six-digit PINs were cracked after one observation. This figure rose to 26.5% after two observations.
Another 64.2% of six-length patterns with tracing lines, meanwhile, were cracked after one observation. This rose to 79.9% after two observations.
Also 35.3% of six-length patterns without tracing lines were cracked after one viewing, rising to 52.1% after two viewings.
“Shorter patterns were even more vulnerable,” said the researchers, who added that even people who use fingerprint or facescanning technology to unlock their
phones should be wary of their findings. “Biometrics are a promising advancement in mobile authentication, but they can be considered a reauthenticator or a secondary authentication device, as a user is still required to have a PIN or pattern that they enter rather frequently due to environmental impacts (wet hands),” they said. “There are also known to be high false negatives rates associated with biometrics. “Further, users with biometrics often choose weaker PINs as compared to those without, suggesting that the classical unlock authentication remains an important attack vector going forward.” A separate study published earlier this year found that the majority of lock patterns can be cracked within five attempts. – The Independent