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56 Comments
- Philmer, on 07/12/2009, -2/+51Sounds like one of those articles my mother would read then promptly decide to never touch a computer again.
- Duffle, on 07/12/2009, -2/+37Get laid.
- 4AntiStupid, on 07/12/2009, -3/+36The problem is the signal to noise ratio usually makes such surveillance useless. There's been all kinds of similar attempts like reading RF emissions from a monitor or modem all the way to reading keystrokes by the sound they make. While it's interesting to try this stuff out, there are much easier ways to bug a computer.
- vsujohn2, on 07/12/2009, -1/+25Frickin laser beams
- samk, on 07/12/2009, -1/+15This is why I choose to never work on anything important.
- B1665r, on 07/12/2009, -0/+13I imagine a government agency would just head on over to AT&T and pull your logs...
- aphexcoil, on 07/12/2009, -1/+14This is very archaic in my time period. A far better way would be to read the magnetic flux waves transmitted by the Earth since all RF disturbances affect the magnetic sheath. Unfortunately your time period doesn't have the technology yet to isolate individual disturbances so it would just appear as noise. In the year 2019, you will have perfected the memristor to the point of being able to isolate and refine very small electrical signals. I believe that is only two years before your first exaflop supercomputer.
You guys are making great progress. Keep it up! - getoffmybridge, on 07/12/2009, -0/+11survive without hot pockets
- Fhwqhgads, on 07/12/2009, -1/+12How many times will they detect "lol I pwned ur azz noob" before giving up completely?
- sjbdallas, on 07/12/2009, -2/+13Catching the signals is one thing, but I'd be really interested in see them show the capture of passwords or actual data with this method. The article seems to be more theory than anything else.
- veloscaper, on 07/12/2009, -0/+10rent Gia
- Pasty745, on 07/12/2009, -1/+11"How to execute these attacks will be demonstrated at the Black Hat USA 2009 security conference in Las Vegas later this month"
The article is suppose to be about theory. TL;DR? - protogenxl, on 07/12/2009, -0/+9Shark attachment sold separately
- chiptricky, on 07/12/2009, -3/+12Hack the planet! Now could they give me a peak at angelina's rack?
- modnar4444, on 07/12/2009, -0/+8What can't hackers do?
- Arsenard, on 07/12/2009, -0/+7Seeing is believing -- Doubting Thomas
- inactive, on 07/12/2009, -0/+7Security through poverty
I like it! - inactive, on 07/12/2009, -0/+6whoa, you're the best hacker ever
- shadowspawn, on 07/12/2009, -1/+74AntiStupid never played with a digital scope that let you store reference signals to subtract from and normalize another wave, apparently.
You can pick up keyboard "sounds" quite easily. There's only a few chipsets that are used in keyboards, and they all work on the same principle (wireless ones are different).
Hell guy, you can use an AM radio to "listen" to a keyboard, if you can pick up a really old sloppy transistor AM radio at a garage sale.
But if you are going to get to that point where you reference that single computer (and there's others on the same circuit) you are better off installing a 10 dollar blip-transmitter keylogger... they are small, they are quick, and they can be multiple in nature and disguised to look like anything.
If you are quick, you can wire a PS/2 or a USB keyboard into one, strip the end, snap it into the connection to look normal with your fingers, and you'd never know. You bribe the cleaning crew. In and out and you just pick up trash and vaccum like you are filling in for someone, drop a keyboard, bring it back onto the desk and look like you're verifying that you plugged it in ok. Then just wait.
You listen periodically for a signal, using a microwave dish that can be made from scrap. - fragMasterFlash, on 07/12/2009, -0/+6Seriously, bring on the frickin sharks already.
- iritegood, on 07/12/2009, -4/+9"To pull the signal out of the ground noise, a reference ground is needed, they say. “A “reference” ground is any piece of metal with a direct physical connection to the Earth, a sink or toilet pipe is perfect for this purpose "
"“If our small research was able to accomplish acceptable results in a brief development time (approximately a week of work) and with cheap hardware,” they say. “Consider what a dedicated team or government agency can accomplish with more expensive equipment and effort,” "
RTFA? - inactive, on 07/12/2009, -1/+6That is if you believe what they are saying. Not to mention, they had a carefully controlled experiment. They knew the computers that they were trying to tap. I seriously have my doubts on the laser one. Way too many outside factors to be able to say with any certainty what key was pressed based on vibrations. Except for the space key. Unless they are talking about figuring out what is being typed when they know solely the number of letters between the space bar, I call ***** on that one.
- cfuse, on 07/13/2009, -0/+5Maintain a warranty.
- ebcreasoner, on 07/12/2009, -0/+5Thanks! We try.
- BlackCow, on 07/12/2009, -0/+5This reminds me of a similar attack that captured keyboard keystrokes right out of the air, from the next room over, using a really big antenna. Scroll down for the videos demonstrating the attack, http://lasecwww.epfl.ch/keyboard/
- inactive, on 07/12/2009, -0/+5stay gainfully employed
- B1665r, on 07/12/2009, -2/+7Remember when Steorn Orbo was going to demonstrate practical perpetual motion?
- wassamatta, on 07/12/2009, -0/+4And what if you are plugged into a UPS? There should not be any detectable changes in the 'home grid' since a UPS is regulating the voltage.
- dustinbolton, on 07/13/2009, -1/+5There is absolutely no way the power outlet thing works in the real world (if ANYWHERE). The power coming into our homes and into our computers is extremely noisy and a mess. The wires are like huge antennas for RF, fluctuations are constant, and there are tons of other happenings in the computer that change fluctuations in power usage quickly: Harddrive seeking, movement on the screen, mouse movement, etc.
I am doubtful that this could even work feasibly in a controlled environment as there are so many variables that change power usage and interference within the computer itself.
I'm a Computer Engineer. Also, this comment box is bouncing. - Tenoq, on 07/13/2009, -0/+4Cheap ones do - so-called 'backup UPSes' behave exactly like that. Line interactive ones are similar, although I would hazard that the voltage correction they're using may make this more difficult. A true online UPS, however, would most certainly protect against this kind of attack. There is no power 'pass-through' with a proper UPS.
- strictnein, on 07/13/2009, -0/+3This is also very archaic in our time period. The US intelligence agencies have been doing similar things for years. I first heard about it in the early 90s, and it had been going on for a while even then. One thing they were able to do back then is that they could use a similar technique to the keyboard one, but use it instead to see what was on the monitor itself. When you've got a monochrome screen it's pretty straightforward, but I'm not sure if they're able to do it these days with high res LCDs and whatnot.
Maybe this wasn't widely known? I'm sometimes not sure, but I guess that's what happens when you grow up with a father who had a security clearance. Sometimes off handed remarks and tidbits are actually secret information. - marciot, on 07/13/2009, -0/+3Simple solution. Set up a few extra "decoy" computers, and have trained monkeys sitting there typing out random characters to drown out any meaningful signal from the real computers with noise. In lieu of trained monkeys, teenagers with social networking accounts can be employed.
- w1cked1, on 07/12/2009, -0/+3A better, and safer reference ground would be the respective neutral line. Untold horrors could await you on a real seperately bonded earth ground, and more noise in a differential measurement.
- Ultra99, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2Software keyboard.
/wins thread. - richiewrt, on 07/13/2009, -0/+2You know, if you leave those monkeys typing long enough, they will eventually recreate Shakespeare.
- Dougman82, on 07/12/2009, -1/+3This would work REALLY well when you've got a room full of computers plugged into the same main electrical line!
/s - wassamatta, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2reminds me of tempest
http://www.surasoft.com/articles/tempest.php - zed26, on 07/12/2009, -0/+2Part of a bigger study: "Will people believe in anything perceivedly tech-savvy folks say?"
Granted, works in theory if you can somehow differentiate vibrations, but laser microphones are nothing new. You're better off with cameras or good old social engineering. Fortunately for us, the articles "tips" on how to foil this method are things most people do unconsciously anyway. - cfuse, on 07/13/2009, -0/+2Mission Accomplished.
- ghostborg, on 07/13/2009, -0/+2Hmm, In theory but in practical situation I don't think so. Better of with a wireless camera.
Besides some guy crawling around my feet trying to change out resistors to make it work would be suspicious.
We all know this stuff works the first time just like in the movies, Right.haha.
And good luck getting a good angle with the laser around my shoulders. It's good people think about this stuff though. - strictnein, on 07/13/2009, -0/+2There's no "woosh" here. I get what he was posting. He was pretending to be from the future.
- Kyrgizion, on 07/26/2009, -0/+2“Consider what a dedicated team or government agency can accomplish with more expensive equipment and effort,”
I do, and it scares the crap outta me.
Still, that's some pretty amazing tech. Kudos to the brilliant minds that came up with it. - marciot, on 07/14/2009, -0/+2Which is more than you can say for teenagers on social networking accounts, alas.
- inactive, on 07/12/2009, -1/+2no it isn't. They claimed to have done it.
- B1665r, on 07/12/2009, -0/+1It is designed to shake lose paranoid peoples money..
- FTGC, on 07/13/2009, -0/+1Google cache http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:69c1eOIhvQQJ: ...
- tsotha, on 07/17/2009, -0/+1It's probably doable, but not the cheapest way to go about hacking into someone's computer. The weakest link in any organization is the people. Why would you bother with this sort of stuff when for much less effort you can get people to hand over passwords by pretending you're "Bob from network group".
- powatom, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1I hand write important documents, scan them into my computer, then use OCR software to convert them to useful documents. When I need to send them to someone, I use a dictaphone to record myself reading the document, then drive thousands of miles to give the recording to my assosciate.
- daggah, on 07/21/2009, -0/+1TEMPEST is actually a legitimate security concern. The military has an entire security area of expertise for reducing TEMPEST vulnerability. (I know because I'm the guy at my base who does "EMSEC" or emissions security inspections to reduce that risk.)
- powatom, on 07/15/2009, -0/+1Yeah we get it, you read XKCD.
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