All an attacker would need to do to execute this method is be in close proximity to the victim. They could put their equipment in public places to send electromagnetic signals to phones.
Unfortunately, the most common places for touchscreen hacking are public places like libraries, cafes, or conference lobbies, where people place their smartphones face-down on the table. The attackers prepare the equipment under the table in advance and launch the attack remotely. The user may not even notice that their gadget has been hacked.” – Adrianus Warmenhoven, NordVPN cybersecurity expert.
“phone unlocks itself” is a popular search phrase on Google and the query generates 209 million results. While that doesn’t mean that everyone whose phone is unlocking itself has been hacked, it shows that a random unlock doesn’t go unnoticed, which is surely reassuring.
