A method of stealing data by communicating with "heat" of a computer

How to steal data from attacked computersNoise emitted by the deviceIt is based onDisguise the USB adapter and sniff the wireless keyboardThere are all kinds of things, including methods, but from the way the Israeli research team has verified, it is always issued from the computerheatIt was found that it can be used for communication means.

Stealing Data From Computers Using Heat | WIRED
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/stealing-data-computers-using-heat/

This research was conducted by a research team at the Negev Ben-Glion University in Israel. The team used two PCs completely isolated from the network etc and conducted an experiment to send and receive information using only heat. The situation is contained in the following movie.

BitWhisper - Jumping the Air - Gap with Heat - YouTube


Two PCs prepared for verification. Only the power cable is connected to the back, you can see that it is blocked from "outside world" such as network and peripheral equipment. Of course the device such as wireless is also OFF.


Rearrange the two cars next to each other ...


I set it to a very short distance and connected the missile launch system for simulation to the PC on the right side. At this point, the left PC temperature shows 29.1 degrees.


The experiment started. After about 4 minutes the temperature of the PC rose to 30.2 degrees. This temperature change is read by the sensor mounted on the PC on the right side so that it can be analyzed as information.


What was being transmitted from the PC on the left is a command "rotate missile platform". Communication was successful, and after about 5 minutes from the start the missile platform connected to the PC on the right turned the direction as instructed.


Another command is sent from the PC on the left.


Its contents are directives of missile launch. The PC on the right who received the information ......


Succeeded to launch "Bashu" and missiles. This time it is verification with a toy, but when this becomes an actual missile, it is not something that can be done with a very funny story. In this way, it was demonstrated that it is possible to transmit and receive information using heat from PCs isolated from the outside world.


◆ A system that transcends "air gap (physical interruption)" "BitWhisper"
One of the security methods in the Internet society where the whole world is connected by the network physically isolates the computer from the network. this is"Air gapIt is called one of the representative methods for enhancing computer security.

Security solution: Hitachi Advanced Systems Corporation


However, even in the situation where such an air gap exists, we do not know that the development of technology for exchanging information via various physical media will stay, and hacking the microphone and the speaker built in the PCMalware that extracts data without hearing sound and user not noticing itMethods such as are confirmed.

This research team "BitWhisperIn the thermal communication system named "Whispering the Bit", convert the temperature change of the PC to binary information of "1" and "0" and use it for a series of information communication. Dedicated malware is loaded in two PCs, for example, the temperature of the PC is measured at a fixed timing such as "every 10 seconds", the state where it is over a certain level is "1", the case where it is less than "0 By doing so, it is a mechanism that makes it possible to send and receive data. The communication rate is very low because it is not a bit transmission by the electric signal, and at the present time it is possible to exchange 8 bits of information per hour.

ByEric

In fact, in order to utilize this technique, it is essential to place two PCs infected with dedicated malware at close distances of about 40 cm or less, and it is thought that hurdles to realization are not so low The research team says, "Even if there is an air gaped isolated PC, in many cases, there is a PC connected to the Internet in the vicinity", the risk of data being stolen is never low I am talking about nothing.

Even when the communication rate is low, by loading an action corresponding to the command in dedicated malware, for example, by simply sending a command "GO", malware starts a complicated process and the missile launch system It can be thought that it leads to the situation of missile launching to the enemy country by cracking into the situation.

Although the existence of unbelievable technology was confirmed at the sudden, in the past it reads the information of the air-gaped PC using the equipment that the National Security Agency (NSA) charged in the USB cardCotton mouse IIt has been spreading the system called the world all over the worldRevealed by Mr. Edward SnowdenSometimes, intelligence technology related to computers is said to be "anything".

From now on, it may be necessary to conduct "PC heat protection" in a different meaning from the conventional one. Although it may not be a realistic story for general users who do not deal with top secret data, it may be said that there is a danger of being abused to steal credit card information and password information, on the other hand.