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Wireless Keylogger Masquerades as USB Phone Charger

Posted by Soulskill on from the in-case-you-were-running-out-of-attack-vectors-to-worry-about dept.

msm1267 writes: Hardware hacker and security researcher Samy Kamkar has released a slick new device that masquerades as a typical USB wall charger but in fact houses a keylogger capable of recording keystrokes from nearby wireless keyboards. The device is known as KeySweeper, and Kamkar has released the source code and instructions for building one of your own. The components are inexpensive and easily available, and include an Arduino microcontroller, the charger itself, and a handful of other bits. When it's plugged into a wall socket, the KeySweeper will connect to a nearby Microsoft wireless keyboard and passively sniff, decrypt and record all of the keystrokes and send them back to the operator over the Web.

5 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And this is good why? by fightinfilipino · · Score: 5, Funny

    What if you want to sniff your own keyboard?

    when i do this i just end up snorting cookie and chip crumbs.

  2. Re:And this is good why? by slacktide · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's purpose is clearly to force wireless device manufacturers to use secure data transmission protocols.

  3. Re:And this is good why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    people could be secretly using this technology already, could have been for the past 10 years or more, to spy on you.

    by making it easy and publicizing it, this teaches you today about the risks you have already been facing which is good because perhaps now you will take steps and do something about it.

  4. Re:And this is good why? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is good because he told us instead of handing us a USB charger.

    "But if he wouldn't develop it, it would be better!"

    Nope. Because there is no such thing as security by apathy. Nobody has the monopoly on ideas, and this is hardly the first hack of this kind. Hiding microelectronics in inconspicuous everyday items is as old as, well, the Thing. Think the US would have been spied upon if they themselves knew such a device can be developed?

    And do you think you can be spied upon with such an item now?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Come on, MS Keyboards are secure. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Funny
    I am sure the Microsoft keyboards are well engineered and will not allow a random listener within earshot to snoop in on communications. Microsoft has a well earned reputation for placing security above everything else. It would not compromise the security for some trivial thing like ease-of-use for dimwitted user. The keyboard will be using encrypted communication between the wireless keyboard and the host PC. In almost all the conference rooms in our office we routinely use wireless keyboard to log in to the conf-room PC, then remote desktop to login to our workstations to make presentations. We would not do it, if someone is using a compromised USB charger in the conference room.

    I have very good experience walking past grave yards whistling.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact