Altering sampling rate to thwart attacks that involve analyzing hardware sensor output

A method performed in a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

• controlling what hardware sensor output is available to a process resulting from execution of a software application by a processor of the portable electronic device, as follows:
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled during touch event windows that occur during time periods throughout which the process is running in background to the process at a sampling rate lower than a threshold;
• and
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled at all other times during execution of the software application to the process at a sampling rate higher than the threshold,
• wherein the hardware sensor output is indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within an environment, and the hardware sensor output is produced by a hardware sensor integrated in the portable electronic device,
• wherein the portable electronic device comprises a hardware user-input component integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware user-input component having multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch,
• wherein a touch event window starts prior to detection of a touch event involving the elements and ends sometime after detection of the touch event, and wherein the process runs in the background during times when an operating system of the portable electronic device is operable not to notify the process of any detected touch events involving the elements.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor of a portable electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• controlling how hardware sensor output is available to a process resulting from execution of a software application by the processor of the portable electronic device, as follows:
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled during time periods throughout which the process is running in foreground to the process at a sampling rate higher than a threshold;
• and
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled during time periods throughout which the process is running in background to the process at a sampling rate lower than the threshold,
• wherein the hardware sensor output is indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within an environment, and the hardware sensor output is produced by a hardware sensor integrated in the portable electronic device,
• wherein the portable electronic device comprises a hardware user-input component integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware user-input component having multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch, and
• wherein the process runs in the foreground during times when an operating system of the portable electronic device is operable to notify the process of any detected first touch events involving the elements, and the process runs in the background during times when the operating system is operable not to notify the process of any detected second touch events involving the elements.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor of a portable electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• controlling what hardware sensor output is available to a process resulting from execution of a software application by the processor of the portable electronic device, as follows:
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled during touch event windows that occur during time periods throughout which the process is running in background to the process at a sampling rate lower than a threshold;
• and
• providing samples of the hardware sensor output sampled at all other times during execution of the software application to the process at a sampling rate higher than the threshold,
• wherein the hardware sensor output is indicative of orientation or motion or both of the portable electronic device within an environment, and the hardware sensor output is produced by a hardware sensor integrated in the portable electronic device,
• wherein the portable electronic device comprises a hardware user-input component integrated in the portable electronic device, the hardware user-input component having multiple elements operable to accept user input through touch,
• wherein a touch event window starts prior to detection of a touch event involving the elements and ends sometime after detection of the touch event, and
• wherein the process runs in the background during times when an operating system of the portable electronic device is operable not to notify the process of any detected touch events involving the elements.