IDG Contributor Network: Acoustic attack lets hackers control smartphone sensor
A newfound vulnerability in smartphones could let hackers remotely control the devices.
With the acoustic injection attack, “attackers that deliver high intensity acoustic interference in close proximity” can interfere with a device accelerometer and get the sensor to send “attacker–chosen” data to the smartphone’s processor, say researchers from the University of Michigan and University of South Carolina in a paper.
Accelerometers measure changes of speed in a device, and they are used industrially to sense vibration for machinery health. In a smartphone, the accelerometer sensor can be used to detect screen orientation, for example.
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