Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology warn of side channelattacks on equipment, where electromagnetic radiation or sound of capacitors are used to transfer data to intercept. Hacks are according to the researchers, a matter of time.
The Side channel method would make it possible for users to attack that are not connected to the internet and also physical access to a device would not be required. At this moment there is still no publicly documented side channel attack, but according to the researchers, that may change. “And of course it is possible that one or all such attacks carried out, but that information does not share,” says one of the researchers, Alenka Zajic from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Devices such as smartphones and laptops may include unintended data give away by electromagnetic radiation, which for example may be picked up with antennas. Also can be sounds that capacitors are bugged and can changes in power be captured by devices that are on the same ac outlet are connected. That is possible, is already longer known, but there is relatively little research on the subject done.
In a demonstration shows researcher Zajic how a password is typed on a non internet connected laptop, can be read by a laptop in a different room. To this end, signals are intercepted by the driver of the laptop keyboard to be generated, though it was unclear what kind of radiation is intercepted. In this case, was the driver of the keyboard adjusted to make it easier for the signals to intercept, but according to the researchers, is that not necessarily needed: software features if spellchecking would be enough opportunities for an attack.
According to the researchers, the problem can never be completely out of the world to be banned, because devices always radiation will continue to leak. The radiation that they leak, would, however, can be reduced, so that they are harder to intercept. The researchers aim their arrows in future research on smartphones, which are relatively strong radiation would produce.
The leak of radiation is one of the reasons that the Netherlands, in 2008, relinquished the use of the voting computers. Distance proved to be possible to to listen in on what someone is voting, on the basis of the radiation emitted by the voice response computer generated. The government felt that was unacceptable, because the elections are confidential.