Researchers Suggest Ways to Tackle Thermal Attacks

2023-08-17 21:50:03

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Researchers Propose Effective Measures to Combat Thermal Attacks

Researchers at Glasgow University have identified 15 strategies that users and manufacturers can implement to enhance login security and reduce the risk of thermal attacks.

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These attacks exploit thermal imaging cameras to identify the keys pressed on a PIN pad or keyboard by a user, enabling attackers to guess the user's PIN or password.

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In a research paper published last year, the same team revealed alarming statistics: two-thirds of passwords with up to 16 characters could be cracked using this method, rising to 82% for 12-character passwords, and 100% for six-character logins.

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Furthermore, the paper stated that 86% of passwords were exposed when thermal images were captured within 20 seconds, 76% within 30 seconds, and 62% after 60 seconds.

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Recommended Strategies to Counter Thermal Attacks

Now, Mohamed Khamis and his colleagues have developed a set of recommendations to mitigate these risks. Their suggestions were formulated after surveying user preferences and reviewing existing security strategies.

The 15 proposed approaches include:

1. Wearing gloves or rubber thimbles
2. Changing hand temperature by touching something cold before typing
3. Pressing hands against surfaces
4. Breathing on surfaces after typing to obscure fingerprint heat
5. Placing a heating element behind surfaces
6. Using materials that dissipate heat more rapidly for surfaces
7. Introducing a physical shield that covers keys until heat has dissipated
8. Implementing eye-tracking inputs or biometric security

“Users need to be vigilant: pay close attention to their surroundings when entering sensitive data in public to ensure no one is watching, or prefer using secure facilities like a bank. Where that’s not possible, we suggest resting palms on devices to obscure traces of heat, or wearing gloves or finger protection if they can,” advised researcher Karola Marky.

The researchers also recommend employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever feasible, as it provides protection against various types of attacks including thermal attacks. Additionally, they urge users to safeguard all authentication factors to the best of their ability.

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