Spyware app can secretly take photos from Google Glass without user’s knowledge

“Critics of Google Glass usually remark on how the device allows its owner to take photos and videos of other people without their knowledge or consent, which has contributed to some backlash, including bans on Glass in some establishments and an alleged assault on a Glass user,” John Zorabedian reports for Naked Security. “But a spyware app developed by two researchers has shown that Google Glass can be used to secretly take photos of whatever a Glass wearer is looking at without their knowledge – making the Glass user the one whose privacy and security is potentially compromised.”

“The lens display usually lights up whenever Glass is in use, which is the only way to tell when Glass is on – other than witnessing voice and gesture commands used by the wearer such as ‘Okay Glass, take a photo,'” Zorabedian reports. “However, according to media reports, the app takes a photo every 10 seconds when the display is off, meaning the wearer (or anyone in view of the camera) is unaware that it’s recording. The app can also access the internet from the user’s Glass connection to upload the images to a server.”

“If a Glass user were to unknowingly install the app, which the researchers disguised as an app for note-taking called Malnotes, the app’s makers could potentially spy on the user’s activity, their location, who they are with, or even see their passwords as they’re typed,” Zorabedian reports. “The proof-of-concept attack shows one potential way for crooks and spies to exploit Glass for nefarious purposes. It also reveals the potential for similar Glass apps to take photos or videos without the Glass display being lit… the security researchers said that – despite Google’s developer policies against apps that take photos with the display off – there’s nothing in Glass’s software that prevents it from happening.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Two-way Spywear.

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