"Attackers Could Use Mobile Device Sensors to Generate Unique Device Fingerprint: Research"
According to researchers at Cambridge University, unique device fingerprints could be generated by attackers through the use of motion sensors built into mobile devices, allowing users to be tracked across the internet via their iOS and Android devices. Access to these sensors does not require special permissions or the escalation of permissions. An individual device's fingerprint can be generated by analyzing sensor output and mathematically inferring details pertaining to the calibration of sensors. Researchers developed an app that is capable of quickly extracting a mobile device's fingerprint. This research focuses on gyroscope and magnetometer sensors on iOS devices. However, researchers expects that the fingerprint attack can also target other embedded sensors to generate fingerprints. This article continues to discuss the use of device fingerprinting, efforts made to limit fingerprinting, the use of motion sensors built into mobile devices to generate fingerprints, and researchers' recommendations for mitigating the fingerprinting attack.