5 Tips to Prevent Screen Hacking

How does screen hacking work?

Screen hacking hijacks a device by manipulating electromagnetic interference. Most modern devices that have a touchscreen rely on similar technology to register the touch of a finger or a stylus.

These screens have some form of an insulator (which almost always is glass) coated with a transparent electrical conductor. A small electric current runs through the conductor at all times.

Whenever you touch the screen with your finger or stylus, it transfers some of the charge to you. Detectors around the edge of the screen can then work out where the electric charge has been lost, which is exactly the place that has been touched.

If you’ve ever tried to touch a phone or computer screen with gloves, you’ll notice that it doesn’t work. Most gloves are insulators and can’t transfer charge, so the screen cannot register touch events.

Alternatively, that’s also the reason a touchscreen goes haywire if it’s even slightly wet. Impure water is a fairly good conductor, so the electrical charge may start behaving unpredictably.

The underlying technology is also the way screen hacking can be performed. Hackers use devices that create electromagnetic interference, which mimics the transfer of electric charge. As such, the touchscreen reacts in the same way as if it was touched.

Signs of screen hacking

There are a few obvious signs that screen hacking is going on. One of the first things you’ll notice is that your device starts registering phantom clicks and opening various apps. While there may be regular interference happening, hackers will usually attempt to perform specific actions, so if it’s not random, screen hacking is likely happening.

Additionally, since unfamiliar users are attempting to access your device, your own actions with it will become intermittent. For example, you may click on one point, but the device will register something entirely different – that may also be an indicator of someone hacking your screen.

Other signs are less easy to notice, but still can add to your suspicions. Some advanced devices may have indicators for electromagnetic interference, so if that pops up and your computer screen starts behaving erratically, that may be a sign of screen hacking.

Finally, if something like that starts happening, always look around yourself. Screen hacking quickly decreases in effectiveness as distance from devices increases, so the person has to be standing, at the very furthest, a few meters away. Most of the time they’ll have to be standing even closer to perform such an attack.

Protecting against screen hacking

You can implement a few layers of protection against screen hacking, ranging from software to physical covers. We’ll start with the easier and less expensive methods.

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to set up a strong password, PIN, or pattern. Screen hacking involves spoofing touches and it can do very little if they can’t unlock your phone or computer.

So, if you notice someone attempting to hack your screen, you can simply lock the device and the attempt will fail, assuming that the hacker does not know your pattern, PIN, or password.

Additionally, you can attempt to physically shield your device. While the most effective protection are steel casings or special screen covers, you can also attempt to put it into your pocket or any other cloth.

Any barrier can significantly reduce the effectiveness of electromagnetic interference. If that fails, moving your device away from the current location will quickly break the attempt as it only works over short distances.

You should also add multi-factor authentication to as many accounts and processes as possible. Even if someone gets access to your device, they won’t be able to do much if your sensitive data is being protected with multi-factor authentication.

Finally, one of the less utilized protective measures is using a trusted VPN. While they don’t directly protect you from someone hacking your screen, many of the security features can protect from further interaction.

An encrypted tunnel will protect you from most other spying tools and various threat protection features could prevent hackers from downloading or installing malware. Some VPNs also have an inbuilt URL filtering system that warns you about suspicious internet activity. So, while a trusted VPN is not an end-all-be-all answer, it can significantly slow down any attempt at hacking your screen.