Monitoring Your Monitor

bje2 writes "Rememeber this story from a couple months ago about reconstructing data from the blinking LEDs of modems...well, CNet is running a story about reconstructing the display of a computer by using special hardware and the reflected glow of the monitor." Kuhn's paper (400k PDF) is available.

Comments

Mr. Peabody's Slashback Machine

[realgone]

Same article appeared on /. back in March, dinnit?

Re:LCD is the answer

[nochops]

First of all, they're not electrons, they're photons, the quantegy of light. Your CRT has an electron gun that directs a narrow beam of electrons onto a phosphorus coated glass (the 'screen'). The phosphorus then glows, and radiates photons.

While LCD panels don't have an electron beam to radiate phosphorus, they still radiate photons. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to see them.

Basically, if your monitor is radiating photons (read: turned on) someone can intercept those photons and reconstruct an image, given the right equipment and circumstances.

I suppose given the right equipment and circumstances, they can read your mind as well, so we're screwed anyway.