New research has revealed that wired keyboards put off an electromagnetic signature that could be used like a keylog
Unlike many PC users this reporter has never opted for “cutting the cord” when it comes to a mouse and keyboard. As part of my beat for the past decade has included gaming I opted for the wires for fears of latency that a wireless device might cause.
Of course considering that most gaming devices – such as the Nintendo Wii and even the latest offerings from Sony and Microsoft now use wireless controllers – my fears should be put aside. Still I’ve long preferred a wired keyboard for a number of reasons, not the least is which trying to resolve a dead battery issue or connection failures.
As I live in a large city – New York City, to be precise - it isn’t too hard to find a Wi-Fi hotspot, and I’m not talking about the ones at the local coffee place. In my old apartment, where I lived on the 19 floor of a south facing high-rise it wasn’t too hard to find numerous open networks. It was however difficult at times to use some wireless devices because of the all the clutter in the airwaves.
Thus for security reasons I stuck with wires, lots and lots of wires. For my own network I used several hundred feet of RJ-45 cable to connect various devices, and opted for wired keyboards and mice most of the time. Surprisingly however as time passed I did go wireless, notably with the aforementioned video game systems.
Now that I’ve moved and live on the second floor of a mid-rise building on the inside courtyard I’ve still opted to wires for my own network. This remains more secure than the Wi-Fi route. But I’ve given wireless a try, as it allows me to bring some devices such as a laptop out to the terrace – we may have lost our great view but gained private outdoor space, which is a hard thing to get in the city that never sleeps.
So I bring all this up because some new findings suggest that computer keyboards can fall victim to all sorts of evil attacks. While clickjacking remains one concern, another is that a keylog could actually provide prying eyes a log of what you’ve typed. This could give away user names and passwords.
But until recently, it was believed that this data could only be obtained through malware installed on a computer, and to a less degree a savvy user who could tap into your wireless devices. In the latter case Bluetooth could provide such a concern, but in this case you’d the person looking to steal your information would need to be sitting in the cubicle next to yours… but this is still something to keep in mind if you’re using Bluetooth technology in a coffee shop or at a trade show.