Computer criminals could soon be eavesdropping on what you type by analysing the electromagnetic signals produced by every key press.
By analysing the signals produced by keystrokes, Swiss researchers have reproduced what a target typed. They have developed four attacks that work on a wide variety of computer keyboards.
The results led the researchers to declare keyboards were “not safe to transmit sensitive information”.
In their work the researchers used a radio antenna to “fully or partially recover keystrokes” by spotting the electromagnetic radiation emitted when keys were pressed.
Details of the attacks are scant but the work is expected to be reported in a peer-reviewed journal soon.
That last link takes you to their website.
Looks like the really paranoid will have to work from inside a Faraday Cage. Come to think of it, doesn’t the U.S. military already do that?
Electromagnetic signals produced by every key press or by ANY other electronic equipment has been know for decades. You want to protect your data then you need to shield it.
This information is so old most computer geeks weren’t born when is was first researched.
Tell me something I don’t know. Please.
You’re a boring dork. Or did you already know that, too.
Like #1 said this stuff is so old and nothing new. This is why they make shielded rooms with all power and signal line coming in are filtered.
Security = fiber optic cables. You’re welcome.
What the hell? What is this old info that you are posting??? #1,2,3 are right, don’t waste our time on this old stuff!!!
/sarcasm off
For more interesting stuff, check out van Eck’s research:
http://tinyurl.com/ys28t8
van Eck did research on being able to pick up the light changes produced by CRT and LCD monitors from several rooms away. Ok, maybe you can’t see the keystrokes with this technique but you can watch pr0n without getting tracked. Brilliant!!
The most effective way is to scream and fart loudly on every keystroke. This fools the sniffer for a short while but by then, you’re done.
“Come to think of it, doesn’t the U.S. military already do that?”
At Foggy Bottom they had a problem with IR wireless keyboards and had to have employees close their blinds when typing.
The EMF from keyboards has been “sniffed” for at least 25 years. Secure buildings have the walls wired and the windows have transparent metallic film on the windows. At least back in the 80’s…
#4 Fiber optic cable is not total secure either. I’ve been told that for secure fiber they shoot some kind of security laser down it. Someone thinks that Fiber Optic cable can be hacked.
What will be next – will they start monitoring the power usage by our IBM Selectric and figure out which letters where typed by how long it takes to spin the bouncing ball? Nothing is sacred anymore.
Tin foil helmets!!!
Your brain waves can be read from 30,000 miles in space!
Keyboards! “how quaint!” (Scotty!)
You can do the same thing with the sound emitted by the keys themselves as you rattle away….
#8 “Fiber optic cable is not total secure either. I’ve been told that for secure fiber they shoot some kind of security laser down it.”
Fiber can be hacked but if it is being monitored you can tell when it is interrupted to do the splice.
Here’s how you secure fiber. http://discovermagazine.com/2002/may/feattech
The military specifies that computers working on sensitive stuff be TEMPEST rated. As it has been pointed out several times before, this is nothing new.
Here’s a good page on TEMPEST:
http://www.tscm.com/TSCM101tempest.html
These techniques are just a Backcountry Dirt Road compared the PAVED MULTI-LANED SUPER HIGHWAY OF DATA THEFT that is your ETHERNET CABLE !!! How many Processes are running now on your CPU ??? Do you know what EVERY ONE OF THEM IS FOR and WHO PUT IT THERE ??? Unknown Process can UPLOAD YOUR ENTIRE HARD DRIVE in short order to Siberia whithout you knowing anything !!! Happy Computing !!!
That does it. I’m no longer going to type secret stuff in any more Swiss laboratories!
This is the new Van Eck phreaking? There was one a few month ago about figure out what people type by the sound of the keys clicking.
As others have said, old news. About 15 years a guy I knew said it was real easy to thwart such eavesdropping — he just dug out his old Radio Shack TRS-80 Mod 1, put it on the floor by his desk, and turned it on. The resulting EM storm made it impossible to detect any signals from his keyboard (it also knocked out TV reception in a 250-foot radius, but hey, there’s a price to be paid for security).
This really is nothing new. While in the US military I worked in a unit that could do things like pick up signals from IBM Selectric typewriters and decipher every keystroke (easily from 50 feet through walls), decipher the data being written to an Apple hard disk 100 feet away through walls, and more. All of OUR equipment was tempest certified and we still had to sweep to be sure no signals radiated beyond 3 feet of our workstations.
This was about 25 years ago and only a small sample of what was possible with the right equipment, skill, and computing power.
Not sure why this would be NEWS…
Ditto, to all those comments about the past…KNOWING that it was possible/noted years ago..
BASIC principle.
ALL INPUT can be HACKED.
ALL input can be VIRUS.
Knowing about it isn’t enough. The whole point is, this was known decades ago and its STILL a problem today. What have you Know-It-All’s done to protect yourself? I’m betting nothing.
20..
WELL,
I dont USE wireless. THINk of the range that has, from your desk.
ASK home depot..LOL
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