Feeling safe with the Pattern lock on your Android phone? Think again! If you feel secure with your Android phone's lock pattern, think again.
According to a new report from Tech times, a group of researchers from the Lancaster University, Northwest University in China, and the University of Bath found out that Android's pattern lock system can be cracked in just five attempts.
The Pattern Lock is one of three security levels on the common Android phone. There's just the swipe screen and also the security code. The Lock Pattern is often described as a mid-level security measure, not too easy to crack but also not the safest.
According to the report, researchers have through the use of a sophisticated algorithm software, been able to crack the code by filming and analyzing fingertip movements and positioning of the device. Researchers used 120 unique patterns that were collected from different users and were able to figure out more than 95% of the patterns in just 5 attempts.
There is general worry that this method of cracking your code would enable thieves to obtain personal information from stolen phones. This algorithm can also be used by attackers across the room inside a busy café or a restaurant.
According to Dr. Zheng Wang of Lancaster University "Pattern lock is a very popular protection method for Android devices. As well as for locking their devices, people tend to use complex patterns for important financial transactions such as online banking and shopping because they believe it is a secure system,
The group also remarkably found that the more complicated a pattern, the easier it is to crack because they narrow down the possible options. Guixin Ye, a researcher from Northwest University, added that it might even be safer to use shorter, simpler patterns instead of the more complex ones.
So perhaps when next you want to sort security for your Android phone, you can use a pin code instead or if you insist on patterns then at least try hiding it whenever you want to access your phone.
What's worse? the more complex your pattern, the easier it is to crack. Yes, i kid you not.
The Pattern Lock is one of three security levels on the common Android phone. There's just the swipe screen and also the security code. The Lock Pattern is often described as a mid-level security measure, not too easy to crack but also not the safest.
According to the report, researchers have through the use of a sophisticated algorithm software, been able to crack the code by filming and analyzing fingertip movements and positioning of the device. Researchers used 120 unique patterns that were collected from different users and were able to figure out more than 95% of the patterns in just 5 attempts.
There is general worry that this method of cracking your code would enable thieves to obtain personal information from stolen phones. This algorithm can also be used by attackers across the room inside a busy café or a restaurant.
According to Dr. Zheng Wang of Lancaster University "Pattern lock is a very popular protection method for Android devices. As well as for locking their devices, people tend to use complex patterns for important financial transactions such as online banking and shopping because they believe it is a secure system,
"However, our findings suggest that using Pattern Lock to protect sensitive information could actually be very risky."
The group also remarkably found that the more complicated a pattern, the easier it is to crack because they narrow down the possible options. Guixin Ye, a researcher from Northwest University, added that it might even be safer to use shorter, simpler patterns instead of the more complex ones.
So perhaps when next you want to sort security for your Android phone, you can use a pin code instead or if you insist on patterns then at least try hiding it whenever you want to access your phone.
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