Scientists have found a way to hack smartphones through Ghost
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Scientists have found a way to hack smartphones through Ghost Touch

Scientists from Zhejiang University (China) and Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany) have discovered a circuit that allows you to simulate commands for touch displays using electromagnetic signals – it was called GhostTouch, which means “ghost touch”.

    Image source: Gerd Altmann / pixabay.com

Image source: Gerd Altmann / pixabay.com

With GhostTouch, a hypothetical attacker can unlock the phone and access sensitive data stored on it, including passwords and banking applications. They can also install malware. The system also imposes significant restrictions: the equipment for its implementation must be at a distance of up to 40 mm from the victim’s smartphone. If desired, this will not stop the attacker – he can place the device at the back of the table in a library, coffee shop or conference room, i.e. where smartphones are usually laid out. After that, the attack can be carried out from a distance.

At least nine smartphone models were found to be affected by GhostTouch vulnerabilities, including the 2020 iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Redmi 8 and Nokia 7.2. It is worth considering that hacking is not entirely elegant: when implementing the scheme, the user sees how the smartphone is unlocked by itself. Therefore, the best protection against such an attack is to set up a PIN or pattern, or use biometrics.

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Johnson Smith

Johnson Smith is interested in Home Theater & Audio, Smart Tech, Google News & Products, How To, Apple News & Products, Cell Phones, Automotive Technology.

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