GhostTouch: Targeted Attacks on Touchscreens without Physical Touch

Authors: 

Kai Wang, Zhejiang University; Richard Mitev, Technical University of Darmstadt; Chen Yan and Xiaoyu Ji, Zhejiang University; Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi, Technical University of Darmstadt; Wenyuan Xu, Zhejiang University

Abstract: 

Capacitive touchscreens have become the primary human-machine interface for personal devices such as smartphones and tablets. In this paper, we present GhostTouch, the first active contactless attack against capacitive touchscreens. GhostTouch uses electromagnetic interference (EMI) to inject fake touch points into a touchscreen without the need to physically touch it. By tuning the parameters of the electromagnetic signal and adjusting the antenna, we can inject two types of basic touch events, taps and swipes, into targeted locations of the touchscreen and control them to manipulate the underlying device. We successfully launch the GhostTouch attacks on nine smartphone models. We can inject targeted taps continuously with a standard deviation of as low as 14.6 x 19.2 pixels from the target area, a delay of less than 0.5s and a distance of up to 40mm. We show the real-world impact of the GhostTouch attacks in a few proof-of-concept scenarios, including answering an eavesdropping phone call, pressing the button, swiping up to unlock, and entering a password. Finally, we discuss potential hardware and software countermeasures to mitigate the attack.

Open Access Media

USENIX is committed to Open Access to the research presented at our events. Papers and proceedings are freely available to everyone once the event begins. Any video, audio, and/or slides that are posted after the event are also free and open to everyone. Support USENIX and our commitment to Open Access.

BibTeX
@inproceedings {277260,
author = {Kai Wang and Richard Mitev and Chen Yan and Xiaoyu Ji and Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi and Wenyuan Xu},
title = {{GhostTouch}: Targeted Attacks on Touchscreens without Physical Touch},
booktitle = {31st USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 22)},
year = {2022},
isbn = {978-1-939133-31-1},
address = {Boston, MA},
pages = {1543--1559},
url = {https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity22/presentation/wang-kai},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = aug
}

Presentation Video