Researchers can use Wi-Fi signals to figure out your keystrokes

Researchers are able to figure out your keystrokes using Wi-Fi signals

According to Researchers, in environments with minimal signal interference, an attacker could use the disruptions in the router’s Wi-Fi signals to detect the keystrokes of an individual when he or she presses the keys of their desktop or laptop . This vulnerability can later be used to steal a lot of sensitive data from the user, which will naturally include passwords.

Scientists have demonstrated such scenarios in the past as well. Wi-Fi signals were also previously used to read hand gestures and lip movements, so the accuracy of Wi-Fi signals is well established in scientific circles, which also means that the practice is also well established with hackers as well. There are a total of two ways how this could be accomplished and both of these methods have been listed below:

1. According to Softpedia, an experiment called WiKey allowed researchers off-the-shelf equipment which ranged from a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Wi-Fi router and a Lenovo X200 laptop. Collecting the tiny shifts in Wi-Fi signals forced the researchers to use the router’s MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) capabilities, which refer to a set of functions that allow each of the antennas to send multiple Wi-Fi signals on the same radio channel. Researchers then used these multiple Wi-Fi signals like a scanner and swept the room in order to make a map of the environment.
2. The other technique to determine keystrokes was using WiKey to detect key presses. When a person stands in front of the laptop and starts typing, WiKey is able to pick up disruptions in the Wi-Fi signals caused by the tiny shift of the user’s hands, fingers and keys.

While these methods have proven to be very deadly in the hands of a skilled hacker, accuracy varies from 77-97.5 percent, but it still means that these hackers will be able to retrieve a large portion of the password, and that’s sufficient enough for them to hack into your account. However, if there is only a single person in the room, then his keystrokes can be used to figure out passwords. If there is more than one person tapping on a laptop key, then the situation will become quite difficult for the hacker.