Shoulder Surfing

Shoulder surfing is when someone secretly looks over your shoulder to see what you are doing or typing on your cell phone, laptop, notepad etc.

After all, even the best password is useless if it falls into the wrong hands. First and foremost, it is important to be aware of the increasing use of video surveillance. Do not enter passwords in front of cameras!

If you have ever tried shoulder surfing yourself, you will have noticed that there are places and situations that are particularly conducive to it.

In crowded lecture halls, for example, you can practically see the screens and keyboards of at least three people in front of you.

On public transportation, seats that are not directly behind the target person but diagonally behind them are particularly suitable. If the bus is extremely crowded, it is not even noticeable when someone is leaning over your cell phone while you are typing.

In such situations, it is important to not just mindlessly type your passwords, but to first evaluate the following:

• Is the potential danger of should surfing real, or is it exaggerated?
• Is it worth the risk to type in my password anyway, or can I wait/find a better place?

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