ThermalTap: Passive Application Fingerprinting in VR Headsets via Thermal Side Channels
Standalone virtual reality (VR) headsets process highly sensitive personal, professional, and health-related data, yet their susceptibility to non-contact physical side channels remains largely unexplored. Existing side-channel attacks typically require malicious software execution or physical access to peripherals, making them conspicuous and potentially patchable. This paper introduces ThermalTap, the first passive, non-contact side-channel attack that fingerprints VR applications solely from the long-wave infrared (LWIR) radiation emitted by the headset chassis. By treating a headset's thermal signature as a high-fidelity proxy for internal computational workloads, ThermalTap enables r...
| Authors | Mahsin Bin Akram, A H M Nazmus Sakib, OFM Riaz Rahman Aranya et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CR |
| Published | 13 May 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 13 May 2026 |
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