Tap ‘N Ghost: A Novel Attack Against Smartphone Touchscreens

Researchers have demonstrated a new vulnerability in NFC, a feature built-in to many smartphones sold today. The vulnerability allows the attacker to to generate ‘ghost taps’ against a device, effectively allowing an attacker to tap your phone without you looking.

The 18-page paper released by a team of three researchers …read more

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Smartphone-activated food labels may replace best-before dates

Although the best-before dates on our foods may stop us from eating spoiled items, they can also cause us to toss out food that’s really still good. New phone-powered labels could help, by notifying users when the food is actually starting to… Continue reading Smartphone-activated food labels may replace best-before dates

Is there any way to use my Titan security key via NFC on my laptop, instead of USB? [migrated]

My Google Titan security key has both USB and NFC interfaces, and I’m able to use it via NFC on my Android phone. However, my laptop also has an NFC reader, and it doesn’t seem to work out of the box. The laptop makes NFC noi… Continue reading Is there any way to use my Titan security key via NFC on my laptop, instead of USB? [migrated]

New Breed of Fuel Pump Skimmer Uses SMS and Bluetooth

Fraud investigators say they’ve uncovered a sophisticated new breed of credit card skimmers being installed at gas pumps that is capable of relaying stolen card data via mobile text message, thereby enabling fraudsters to collect it from anywhere in the world. One interesting component of this criminal innovation is a small cellphone and Bluetooth-enabled device hidden inside the contactless payment terminal of the pump, which appears to act as a Bluetooth hub that wirelessly gathers card data from multiple compromised pumps at a given filling station. Continue reading New Breed of Fuel Pump Skimmer Uses SMS and Bluetooth