Shoulder surfing: what is it?

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Shoulder surfing is a practice that involves observing an individual and gathering information without the knowledge or consent of the individual being observed. The name of this process refers to the practice of looking over another person’s shoulder to ascertain what he or she is doing. Despite the name, people engaged in the act of shoulder surfing don’t have to be physically close to or look over another person’s shoulder to secretly gather information.

In most cases, shoulder surfing refers to an activity related to protecting proprietary information that the observer can later use for his or her own benefit. For example, a con artist may be ideally placed to observe an individual entering a personal identification number (PIN) into an ATM. By observing the keystroke, the thief can determine the code sequence and write it down for future use. Assuming the thief can later gain access to the debit card associated with that PIN, she will be able to withdraw funds from the linked account at will.

In crowded checkout lines, shoulder surfing can also be used as a means to quickly read account numbers and capture PIN codes for later use. The advent of small cameras that can be triggered without warning can actually create a visual record of a transaction. Later, that video can be used to identify the necessary financial information and allow thieves to use the data to make unauthorized online purchases.

An electronic version of shoulder browsing captures keystrokes as shoppers enter financial data as a means of making an online purchase. Malicious software that violates website security protocols captures every keystroke the purchaser makes, then logs it for future use. The end result is the unauthorized use of debit and credit cards to make purchases that the account owner is unaware of until the card statement arrives or the card issuer notices something unusual and holds further purchases pending investigation.

With the increasing use of debit and credit cards instead of cash or checks, the opportunity to become a victim of shoulder surfing is greater than ever. Some merchants have taken steps to provide shielding on card terminals to make it more difficult for others to read card information or see which keys are pressed by the end user. Many merchants will also encourage shoppers to position their upper body at an angle that blocks the view of anyone nearby, making it more difficult for anyone to see exactly what data the shopper is entering into the point-of-service terminal (POS). ).

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