(Smart)watch your taps: side-channel keystroke inference attacks using smartwatches

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of keystroke inference attacks on handheld numeric touchpads by using smartwatch motion sensors as a side-channel. The proposed attack approach employs supervised learning techniques to accurately map the uniqueness in the captured wrist movements to each individual keystroke. Experimental evaluation shows that keystroke inference using smartwatch motion sensors is not only fairly accurate, but also better than similar attacks previously demonstrated using smartphone motion sensors.