Smartwatches Can Secretly Receive Data From Air-Gapped Computers

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Researchers from an Israeli university have shown a new way for hackers to steal information from PCs that are not connected to the internet, known as air-gapped systems. These computers are often used in places like government offices, military bases, and nuclear plants to keep important information safe by keeping them away from any network.
The attack, called SmartAttack, needs a computer to be infected with the virus first. This can happen if someone inside the organization helps or if a device like a USB drive is used on the device. Once the computer is infected, the software collects information like passwords and other confidential messages.
To send this information out, the malware uses the computer's speaker to make very high-pitched sounds that people cannot hear, according to the study posted to arXiv. These sounds are at frequencies above what humans can detect. But smartwatches, which are everywhere nowadays, can pick them up with their microphones. The smartwatches then use special software to turn these sounds back into the stolen information, as reported by Bleeping Computer.
Credit: arXiv
After the smartwatch receives the information, it can send it to someone outside the secure area using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The researchers say this method works best if the smartwatch is close to the computer and has a clear path to the speaker. The farther away the smartwatch is, or if something is blocking the speaker, the harder it is for the smartwatch to pick up the data.
The team says the best way to stop this kind of attack is to not allow smartwatches in secure areas or to remove the speakers from these computers. Other ways to protect these systems include using devices that make noise at these high frequencies to block secret signal communication, or using software to turn off the computer's audio functions.