# smudge attack

> English word · Noun · IPA /smʌdʒ əˈtæk/

## Definitions
1. A method used to crack the password of a touchscreen device by analysing the oily smears left on the device's screen by the user's fingers.

## Etymology
smudge + attack; coined in 2010 by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Computer and Information Science in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: see the quotation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/smudge-attack