Shoaib Ali It's bloggin time

This is nothing new to me but for some its perfect demonstration of what electromagnetic can do to assist hackers. I've known about this for 5+ years now - never really saw it being done but its been done easily in the past by hackers. That is why big corporations now insulate their server rooms from outside signals.

Also, this is not limited to keyboards, you can also do similar hack on network cables, atm machines and tv remotes etc. Here is a demonstration video.

"We conclude that wired computer keyboards sold in the stores generate compromising emanations (mainly because of the cost pressures in the design)," they write here. "Hence they are not safe to transmit sensitive information."

No doubt, electromagnetic eavesdropping dates back to the mid 1980s, if not earlier. But Vuagnoux says many of today's keyboards have been adapted to prevent those attacks from working. The research shows that even these keyboards are vulnerable to electromagnetic sniffing.

The video demonstrations show a computer that reads input from antennas that monitor a specified frequency. In both cases, the computer was able to determine the keystrokes typed on keyboards connected to a laptop and power supply and LCD monitors were disconnected to prevent potential power transmissions or wireless communications. Vuagnous said in an email that the attacks would still work even if the power supplies and monitors were plugged in.

The demonstration has already gotten the attention of other security researchers.

"It's definitely believable that this is possible," Charlie Miller, principal security analyst for Independent Security Evaluators. "It is very James Bond."

The idea would be for an attacker to sniff passwords and other sensitive data using equipment located in an adjacent hotel room, office, or home.

Even still, it's easy to see the limitations of such attacks. Interference from other televisions, lights, or other devices seems likely, although the video demonstrations suggest that the attacks work even when there are nearby computer monitors. The other thing that makes the attack unfeasible is the amount of sophisticated equipment required. Given all the fuss and expense, why not just sneak a keylogger onto the target's machine?

The findings will be fleshed out in an upcoming research paper. ®