Snooping through the power socket

Power sockets can be used to eavesdrop on what people type on a computer.

Security researchers found that poor shielding on some keyboard cables means useful data can be leaked about each character typed.

By analysing the information leaking onto power circuits, the researchers could see what a target was typing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8147534.stm

Is there no end to all this spying.

I wonder how many people take a PS/2 keyboard with them to a hotel? And how do the researchers intend to separate out the mains fluctuation caused by multiple computers?

The whole scare is well over 20 years old anyway - just a re-hash by new people.

The problem in those days was the radio-frequency emission from the video cable.

There were actually a few prosecutions of people sitting outside office blocks in vans equipped with fairly simple detection equipment that could be bought in the electronics shops (at the end of Oxford Street in London I think).

They were able to view everything that was appearing on the computer screen in the office. (Remember not many offices had more than one desktop/tower computer in those days).

Edit - Into my head whilst I was cleaning my teeth! Not Oxford Street, but Tottenham Court Road.

Bob: Demon dialup >> Freeserve dialup >> BT Broadband >> Prodigynet >> Newnet >> O2 Premium.
Purple Cloud for domain, email and web space.

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 13-Jul-09 23:32:01)

Indeed, TEMPEST is nothing new.

Not really news, not 100% credible either if it's the same game reported in The Register last October and again this March, doubtless reported elsewhere too. The comments are worth a read.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/20/keyboard_sni...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/19/keyboard_sni...

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Not really news, not 100% credible either if it's the same game reported in The Register last October and again this March, doubtless reported elsewhere too. The comments are worth a read.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/20/keyboard_sni...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/19/keyboard_sni...

Apart from my earlier comment, it looks from your post as though the researchers referred to in the OP forgot one basic bit of research.

"Are we investigating something that hasn't already been done and the results published?" !!!

Bob: Demon dialup >> Freeserve dialup >> BT Broadband >> Prodigynet >> Newnet >> O2 Premium.
Purple Cloud for domain, email and web space.

I don't know why anyone bothers with all this clandestine stuff. All anyone needs to is spend a couple of hours on Twitter or Facebook and the like. The innermost secrets of the majority of the internet population are there for all to see.

In reply to a post by Deadbeat:

I don't know why anyone bothers with all this clandestine stuff. All anyone needs to is spend a couple of hours on Twitter or Facebook and the like. The innermost secrets of the majority of the internet population are there for all to see.

And about as interesting as melted ice-cream.

Bob: Demon dialup >> Freeserve dialup >> BT Broadband >> Prodigynet >> Newnet >> O2 Premium.
Purple Cloud for domain, email and web space.

You know your stuff

What about a USB keyboard, can they get anything from that?
OP.

Not if it's lead lined.

You'd be very surprised at the info that is available on these networking sites. I recently showed a friend whose rather immature daughter wanted to join up how easy it was to grab some very personal details about a random member. Within the hour, name, parents and siblings names, address, schools attended, colleges attended and workplaces were all revealed. And that was without really trying.
Social engineering used to be something of a skilled art but these networks have made life so simple for personal information harvesters..... As well as crooks, perverts and weirdos of all sorts.