Technology

59080 readers

4277 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

439

Boffins convert typing sounds into text with 95% accuracy (www.theregister.com)

submitted 11 months ago by kpw@kbin.social to c/technology@lemmy.world

144 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Researchers in the UK claim to have translated the sound of laptop keystrokes into their corresponding letters with 95 percent accuracy in some cases.

That 95 percent figure was achieved with nothing but a nearby iPhone. Remote methods are just as dangerous: over Zoom, the accuracy of recorded keystrokes only dropped to 93 percent, while Skype calls were still 91.7 percent accurate.

In other words, this is a side channel attack with considerable accuracy, minimal technical requirements, and a ubiquitous data exfiltration point: Microphones, which are everywhere from our laptops, to our wrists, to the very rooms we work in.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That would limit the practicallity quite a lot, as deskmats and typing style would change the sound of even a common keyboard.

I also notice that I slightly change my typing style between typing normally and entering my password.

[–] Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 2 points 11 months ago

That would limit the practicallity quite a lot, as deskmats and typing style would change the sound of even a common keyboard.

Eh... I don't know if it would be enough of a change. Also consider mass produced popular laptops (e.g. targeting the MacBook keyboard).

I also notice that I slightly change my typing style between typing normally and entering my password.

I don't really think that's normal... But hey, maybe it gives you some protection 🙂