Pattern lock screen
- #PATTERN LOCK SCREEN CRACKED#
- #PATTERN LOCK SCREEN ANDROID#
- #PATTERN LOCK SCREEN SOFTWARE#
- #PATTERN LOCK SCREEN PASSWORD#
Surprising as it may seem, the team also found that longer patterns are easier to hack, as they help the algorithm to narrow down the possible options. The attackers would not even need to be close to the victim, as the team was able to steal information from up to two and a half meters away by filming on a standard smartphone camera, and from nine meters using a more advanced digital SLR camera. The attack works even without the video footage being able to see any of the on-screen content, and regardless of the size of the screen. The researchers evaluated the attack using 120 unique patterns collected from users, and were able to crack 95 percent of patterns within five attempts. Researchers from the Lancaster University and the University of Bath in the UK, along with the Northwest University in China, have shown that this type of attack can be carried out successfully by using footage filmed with a video camera and a computer vision algorithm.
#PATTERN LOCK SCREEN SOFTWARE#
Within seconds, the software installed on their device will suggest a small number of possible patterns that could be used to unlock your smartphone or tablet.
Meanwhile, an attacker at a nearby table films the movements of your fingers. Picture this: You sit at a table in your favorite café, take your smartphone out of your pocket and trace your lock pattern across the phone screen. Hackers can steal your lock pattern from a distance
#PATTERN LOCK SCREEN PASSWORD#
Additionally, 44 percent of people start their lock screen pattern from the top left corner of the grid.Įven though creating more complicated patterns may seem like the best solution to make your password harder to guess, a team of researchers has demonstrated that complex patterns are surprisingly easier to crack than simple ones by using an algorithm. Most people only use four of the nine available nodes, according to a recent study conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
#PATTERN LOCK SCREEN ANDROID#
Around 40 percent of Android users prefer lock patterns to PIN codes or text passwords to protect their devices.
#PATTERN LOCK SCREEN CRACKED#
After all, if even Mark Zuckerberg himself used ‘dadada’ for all of his passwords, it is not surprising that your lock pattern may be a simple letter of the alphabet.Īndroid lock patterns can be easily cracked using a computer vision algorithm. However, that line you draw with your finger may be a bit too simple. The algorithm identifies one or more possible patterns from the footage, and in a study of 120 unique patterns, it could figure out over 95% of them in five attempts or less - before the device is automatically locked because of too many incorrect pattern entries.If you use a lock pattern to secure your Android smartphone, you probably think that’s the perfect way to avoid unwanted intrusions. Instead, covert footage taken from a smartphone from around two meters away - or from a professional SLR camera from up to nine meters away - was sufficient to automatically reverse-engineer the pattern using a computer vision algorithm. The researchers don't need to be able see the screen for the method to work, they wrote. Instead of entering a passcode or using your fingerprint, you draw a pattern of your choosing in one unbroken movement.īut doing this requires moving your fingers - and with the right software, those movements can be reverse-engineered. If you're not familiar with lock screen patterns - perhaps because you're on iOS - they're an alternative way to secure your smartphone on Android. Examples of when the computer algorithm was able to figure out the pattern.