Image Source:filebuzz.com

Recently, two Swiss researchers namely, Martin Vuagnoux and Sylvain Pasini, both working with Swiss Security and Cryuptography Laboratory at LASEC/EPFL haveproven that they can recover remotely, keystrokes from a wired keyboard even at a distance of 20 meters or 65 feet. It can detect keystrokes even through walls. It simply reads the EM or electro magnetic emissions from the device. In this case, the subject was the wired keyboards of a personal computer. It was attached either with PS/2 or USB connections. On the first test, only the keyboard was monitored. The second test, a battery powered laptop with a wired keyboard attached to it was placed several rooms away, with walls. It was still able to retrieve the typed message. This poses a great threat in the oevrall security of these devices, including ATMs and other computer machines. It is therefore recommended that the wired keyboard not be used to transmit users’ passwords and names. Not surprisingly, the US government already established an organization that will tackle the same type of security vulnerability that the two researches have unfolded. It is called TEMPEST or Telecommuncations Electronics Material Protected from Emanating Spurious Transmissions. The government hopes to alleviate standards of electronic emissions that are escaping government institutions and offices. It is strongly suggested that hardware manufacturers use the standards in creating equipments to minimize electronic signals.