Phone users to get better protection from hackers

Researchers from SMU are working on a detection mechanism for facial authentication functions on mobile phones, which will be able to prevent hackers from using photos or videos to gain access. This was one of two projects showcased at the inaugural Singapore Cybersecurity R&D Conference yesterday. SMU School of Information Systems Research Fellow Li Yan noted that facial authentication hacking is also “quite a common problem” among mobile device users now. The system that Dr Li and his fellow researchers are working on, called FaceLive, works with the camera and inertial sensors already available in mobile phones. It gets users to move the mobile phone in front of their face to capture different angles of it. The team is currently working on the demo, and is contacting some companies - including local banks - on implementing it in their systems.