What’s All the Fuss About...
Shoulder surfers
Microsoft has a solution for nosy parkers snooping on your screen
Who are they?
People who like to take a crafty peek over your shoulder when you’re using your phone or laptop in public. Most of them are just being nosy – curious about what you’re typing and to whom. But there are also plenty of criminals who do it to steal your login details when you unlock your devices and sign into accounts. It’s a growing security threat.
Says who?
Several security experts in recent years. In 2023 Detective Superintendent John Roch, head of economic crime at the Metropolitan Police, said scammers are getting better at shoulder surfing. He described phones as being like “a bag of cash” if they fall into the wrong hands. His warning was echoed last year by Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander, who said “it’s astonishing how many people still use their laptops on public transport without thinking about who’s around them and what they can potentially see”. But now Microsoft has a solution: