Hack Brief: Emergency-Number Hack Bypasses Android Lock Screens By Andy Greenberg Published: 2015-09-15 · Archived: 2026-04-05 15:28:09 UTC A new lock screen bypass technique requires little more than typing a long string of characters and repeatedly pressing the camera shutter button. A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Note Edge smartphone running the Android mobile operating system is arranged for a photograph in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. A researcher at a security firm revealed a hole in Android's source code that hackers can exploit, if they have a phone's number, with a text. Photographer: Chris Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesChris Goodney/Bloomberg/Getty Images If you protect your Android phone with a password rather than an unlock pattern or PIN, you may want to keep it in your sight a little more carefully than usual. A new, dead-simple attack could allow anyone who gets their hands on it to bypass that password lock with no more skill than it takes to cut and paste a long string of characters. You’ve read your last free article. https://www.wired.com/2015/09/hack-brief-new-emergency-number-hack-easily-bypasses-android-lock-screens/ Page 1 of 3 The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters—cancel anytime. START FREE TRIAL Already a subscriber? Sign In The intersection of technology, power, and culture. Start your free trial and get access to 5 all-new premium newsletters START FREE TRIAL https://www.wired.com/2015/09/hack-brief-new-emergency-number-hack-easily-bypasses-android-lock-screens/ Page 2 of 3 Andy Greenberg is a senior writer for WIRED covering hacking, cybersecurity, and surveillance. He’s the author of the books Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency and Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers. His books ... Read More Don't Just Keep Up. Get Ahead Sign up for the Daily newsletter to get our biggest stories, handpicked for you each day. Source: https://www.wired.com/2015/09/hack-brief-new-emergency-number-hack-easily-bypasses-android-lock-screens/ https://www.wired.com/2015/09/hack-brief-new-emergency-number-hack-easily-bypasses-android-lock-screens/ Page 3 of 3