Body Keylogging
Questions & Answers
What are the basic functions of the device?
The basic functions of the device are:
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Wakes up when the light is on.
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Scans the sensors array and holds the last samples of raw data.
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Monitors the audio: When the audio indicates a keystroke the raw data is stored in a keystrokes database.
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Upon interrogation, the keystrokes database is processed.
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Transmits data upon interrogation:
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Wired connection
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Infra-Red LED
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Hand gesture interrogation is bliss
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Sleeps while the light is off.
What is the detection probability?
Tests were conducted to evaluate the probability of successful keystroke detection. The tests were performed by 7 people, each entering the following codes: 1-2-3-4-5-Key and 1-2-3-4-5-Enter, in an alternating manner. In every test, the codes were entered 25 times (A total of 150 key presses). The average probability of successful detection was 92%.
What are the dimensions of the device?
The dimensions of the device are 41 mm x 65 mm x 6 mm (1.61” x 2.56” x 0.24”).
The battery takes a 1/3 of the area.
Can it be smaller?
The device was developed as a "proof-of-concept" device and is not intended for commercial use. Components packages and spacing were selected to enable convenient access to the terminals, for debugging purposes. Smaller packages may be used. Components layout may be denser. A smaller battery can be used.
The device can be smaller.
How much does it cost?
Components for a single device cost approximately 70$.
The sensors cost approximately 50$
The controller cost approximately 5$
The battery cost approximately 7$
Can it be cheaper?
Prices drop at higher volumes. It can be cheaper.
How long can the device run on battery power?
The answer depends on the time at which the safe is accessed per day. When the safe is not used for days, the device will "sleep" for days, saving battery time. The following graph shows the dependency between safe usage and battery time:
How can I defend myself against such an attack?
It is very hard to detect the presence of tracking devices without dedicated equipment.
An attacker may deploy decoys to check if someone suspects the innocent looking magnet or sticker (If no one raises suspicion, the attacker may replace the decoy with a body key-logger).
Can anything be done to stop such an attack?
Yes.
Common keyboards and keypads have rigid user interfaces, making it easy to extract keystrokes by following the body movements of the user and correlating the data to the key layout. This would have been harder to do if the user interface was not rigid. Touch screens can be used to achieve this goal if at each iteration the layout changes.
An example of an arbitrary keypad layout:
To improve the user’s ability to remember the code, graphic signs other than a numeric keypad keys can be used. Graphic signs may be letters, colors, emojis, icons, emoticons, etc.
Audio feedback is relatively easy to detect and exploit to improve the probability of key detection. It may be replaced with a narrow field of view visual sign that is visible only to the user.