Understanding Shoulder Surfer Behavior and Attack Patterns Using Virtual Reality.

Abdrabou, Yasmeen and Rivu, Sheikh Radiah and Ammar, Tarek and Liebers, Jonathan and Saad, Alia and Liebers, Carina and Gruenefeld, Uwe and Knierim, Pascal and Khamis, Mohamed and Mäkelä, Ville and Schneegass, Stefan and Alt, Florian (2022) Understanding Shoulder Surfer Behavior and Attack Patterns Using Virtual Reality. In: AVI 2022: Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces :. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ITA, pp. 1-9. ISBN 9781450397193

Abstract

In this work, we explore attacker behavior during shoulder surfing. As such behavior is often opportunistic and difficult to observe in real world settings, we leverage the capabilities of virtual reality (VR). We recruited 24 participants and observed their behavior in two virtual waiting scenarios: at a bus stop and in an open office space. In both scenarios, participants shoulder surfed private screens displaying different types of content. From the results we derive an understanding of factors influencing shoulder surfing behavior, reveal common attack patterns, and sketch a behavioral shoulder surfing model. Our work suggests directions for future research on shoulder surfing and can serve as a basis for creating novel approaches to mitigate shoulder surfing.