- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
"Researchers from Boston’s Northeastern University have developed a mobile app for Android that, once installed, can send information regarding the users’ location without their consent. The app does not require permissions to access GPS or Wi-Fi information, and instead infers the location indirectly by accessing other built-in sensors that can be used without explicit consent. These sensors include the accelerometer, which detects the orientation in which the mobile phone is being held, the gyroscope, which measures the rotation of the device, and the magnetometer, which acts as an inner compass.
By using the information provided by these sensors, the researchers show that this type of malicious software could be used to detect where a person lives, which route they take to work and even if the person normally carries the phone in the pocket, where is relatively stable, or in a purse, where it swings."
Read more: Researchers find that Android apps can secretly track users’ whereabouts | news @ Northeastern
By using the information provided by these sensors, the researchers show that this type of malicious software could be used to detect where a person lives, which route they take to work and even if the person normally carries the phone in the pocket, where is relatively stable, or in a purse, where it swings."
Read more: Researchers find that Android apps can secretly track users’ whereabouts | news @ Northeastern
