Security Now! podcast on New Techniques in Information Leakage

Created by Catherine Howell (La Trobe University) on October 11, 2005

Check out issue #6 of the blazin' Security Now! podcast, on Mechanical and Electromagnetic Information Leakage.

SpinRite's Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte (of the incredibly popular This Week in Tech podcast) discuss the latest tips and tactics from the world of "information leakage". Most intriguingly, they highlight a bizarre new piece of science from Berkeley. Researchers used Markov modelling to determine, reportedly with 96% accuracy, what is being typed on a keyboard -- purely from the sound of someone typing.

We're in the weird wired world here of keystroke loggers, using glass windows as data "reflectors", or reconstructing images on a screen from the blue "flicker" it emanates... Fascinating, and maybe a little scary, but really it's just a reminder of the sheer remoteness of this or similar "bleeding edge" technologies from the universe of the average user.

Security Now! seems to me to be typical of the security industry in its theme of urgency (you'd hardly get a podcast called "Security: Maybe Later"). But then, I would say that, wouldn't I: as a rule, education interests me a lot more than security.

I'm pleased that the folks at Security Now! go out of their way to point out that the "risk" of having your password hacked by someone with some Markov experience is, well, minimal. Maybe this is one for NSA types only?

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		Security Now! podcast on New Techniques in Information Leakage Created by Catherine Howell (La Trobe University) on October 11, 2005 Check out issue #6 of the blazin' Security Now! podcast, on Mechanical and Electromagnetic Information Leakage. SpinRite's Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte (of the incredibly popular This Week in Tech podcast) discuss the latest tips and tactics from the world of "information leakage". Most intriguingly, they highlight a bizarre new piece of science from Berkeley. Researchers used Markov modelling to determine, reportedly with 96% accuracy, what is being typed on a keyboard -- purely from the sound of someone typing. We're in the weird wired world here of keystroke loggers, using glass windows as data "reflectors", or reconstructing images on a screen from the blue "flicker" it emanates... Fascinating, and maybe a little scary, but really it's just a reminder of the sheer remoteness of this or similar "bleeding edge" technologies from the universe of the average user. Security Now! seems to me to be typical of the security industry in its theme of urgency (you'd hardly get a podcast called "Security: Maybe Later"). But then, I would say that, wouldn't I: as a rule, education interests me a lot more than security. I'm pleased that the folks at Security Now! go out of their way to point out that the "risk" of having your password hacked by someone with some Markov experience is, well, minimal. Maybe this is one for NSA types only? Cybersecurity \| Hacking \| Podcasting \| reverse engineering \| Security Awareness \| Spyware/Adware Catherine's blog Login or register to post comments 5059 reads
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