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Keyboard Sound Aids Password Cracking 389
stinerman writes "Three students at UC-Berkley used a 10 minute recording of a keyboard to recover 96% of the characters typed during the session. The article details that their methods did not require a 'training text' in order to calibrate the conversion algorithm as has been used previously. The research paper [PDF] notes that '90% of 5-character random passwords using only letters can be generated in fewer than 20 attempts by an adversary; 80% of 10-character passwords can be generated in fewer than 75 attempts.'"
My Luggage (Score:5, Funny)
Looks like you're screwed because my luggage password is 5 digits long, but all digits are numbers in a sequential order starting with one. Ha ha!
Re:My Luggage (Score:4, Funny)
Re:My Luggage (Score:5, Funny)
Shhhh! That's not the combination he set - that's the TSA's "back-door" combo.
Re:My Luggage (Score:3, Informative)
Don't assume that each possibility is equally likely .
Re:But get this (Score:2)
Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Interesting)
However, this is a little harder, I have to hit each and every key so that it makes exactly the same sound. This is extremely difficult because even if
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Funny)
Spyware attempting to hash out your keystrokes by listening to the keypresses instead of grabbing the strokes directly is a bit like a person trying to enjoy music by watching the equalizer lights flicker instead of using the speakers.
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Interesting)
So, theoretically, yes; malware could listen to microphone input of you typing and work it backwards into key logging. If spyware's already on your system though, it'd be easier just to log the keys in the system. But you could figure out what someone else is typing just by recording it.
-Jesse
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Interesting)
A virus infects one computer in an office installs spyware, listens to typing in the office, generate a dictionary of likely passwords and then attempts to attack nearby computers (just scan the subnet/workgroup) by using overheard passwords.
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Funny)
Hey, I've done that! It's a great exercize for increasing the pattern-matching ablities of your brain! You have no idea how good it feels when you finally 'hear' the music just by watching the lights...
(Well, at least I think so.)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:3, Funny)
Why don't you volunteer for a charity? It sounds like you have enough time on your hands to save the world singlehandedly.
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Funny)
I am now out of college.
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Redbox for keyboards now? (Score:4, Funny)
"Remix Of The Killer Tomatoes"
"Return Of The Password Snatchers"
"They Listened from Within"
"Buffy The Keystroke Logger" (not quite on-topic)
"I Know What You Typed Last Summer"
"Eavesdropper"
"The Computers Have Ears"
The unrelated horror film we're most likely to see?
"The Blog" - with Steve McQueen re-animated to reprise his role as "Steve Andrews"
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Comedy
Tagline: Indescribable... Indestructible! Nothing Can Stop It!
Plot Outline: An inane personal web log consumes all bandwidth in its path as it grows and grows.
Keyboard specific? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Interesting)
For people like me who never learned to type the "correct way" and use a mish-mash of styles and methods, or someone with fat fingers who makes a lot of mistakes, or the typing dyslexic, the system might be flawed. Also I'd imagine a twisted Keyboard would sound very different from a rectangular straight keyboard.
Its n
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Informative)
I've seen this objection several times in this discussion, so I think I should respond here.
The audio recording required for deciphering the keystrokes needs to be different for every combination of user and keyboard. There is no way a universal key could be developed; even if the same make and model of keyboard were being used, the amount of wear the keyboard has experenced would contribute to differences in the sound, and this system depends on isolating unique sounds for each keypress. Also, different
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Interesting)
The algorithm in the description doesn't have/need a baseline recording of any particular keyboard, it learns as it goes along, using pattern, and dictionary-style decoding. It just listens for all sorts of different sounding keystrokes, then starts to assume things as it goes along. If you type the same three different sounding characters in a row a whole bunch of times, it's probably the word "the" rathe
I think so (Score:5, Interesting)
This technique must be usable on most keyboards, because judging from this [textfiles.com] the FBI sometimes uses (or has used in the past) this technique. From the page:
Oh and by the way, that page was written in 1998, so these UC-Berkley students (and the /. editors) are about 7 years slow.
Re:I think so (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I think so (Score:5, Informative)
The article details that their methods did not require a 'training text' in order to calibrate the conversion algorithm as has been used previously.
(emphasis mine)
They are acknowledging that what you describe has been possible for some time, but what they have been able to achieve different.
Re:I think so (Score:3, Interesting)
do you think they would divulge their secrets if no one else knew? by 1998, just about every "security" and "intelligence" agency had already surpassed it.
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:2)
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:2)
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Informative)
No. They analyse the clicks by comparing them with English letter frequencies. So it doesn't matter what the key is marked as, it's what you're using it for that is recorded.
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, crap.
Re:Keyboard specific? (Score:3, Funny)
applicability? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:applicability? (Score:5, Insightful)
How about a parabolic or shotgun mike?
Re:applicability? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:applicability? (Score:2, Interesting)
Now if you want something that actually WORKS, try a laser microphone or an array of mic's in tubes of varied lengths with each tube resonating at a likely
Re:applicability? (Score:2)
Re:applicability? (Score:2)
Re:applicability? (Score:3, Interesting)
a) get a standalone mic; and
b) stop coding while he's talking to me...
Re:applicability? (Score:2)
Re:applicability? (Score:2, Insightful)
A camera would have to be given the right viewpoint, would likely be bigger, and the keyboard might move out of the camera's range.
Re:applicability? (Score:2)
Re:applicability? (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, using the mic in a laptop to sniff sounds made by *other* computers would be pretty slick.
Another old fashioned way to get passwords w audio (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Another old fashioned way to get passwords w au (Score:2)
Or, an even easier way, give them candy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3639679.stm [bbc.co.uk]
Seriously, this "audial cracking" is a great idea (which I coincedentally thought of while watching "Sneakers".) Combine it with a laser microphone, and you can "sniff" passwords from far away, without requiring any additional equipment to be installed on the site being compromised.
It's a good thing... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's a good thing... (Score:2)
Did I miss a joke here?
Re:It's a good thing... (Score:2)
WHAT?!?!?! You're not a geek, what are you doing posting on /.???
Re:It's a good thing... (Score:2)
Verify me.
75 attempts? (Score:5, Insightful)
All the systems where I work will lock you out after 5 bad attempts. What kind of password system lets you try 75 (or even 20) times?
Re:75 attempts? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to say that the alternatives don't have their weaknesses, but this one certainly does as well.
Re:75 attempts? (Score:3, Insightful)
Most of our connectivity is onsite anyway...VPN access is pretty tightly regulated...so for us to be DOS vulnerable, the attacker would have to be inside the building, on the network, and by "on" I mean "plugged into" because my boss thinks "wireless s
Re:75 attempts? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course if the person changes the password every 3 weeks...
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2)
Also notice that these are random character passwords. Most people use stuff like "scruffy123", not "ywxhfq"
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2)
When I'm trying to remember a password I've forgotten, as some of the systems I deal with lock after three failures, I'll try two passwords, disconnect, reconnect, try two more, etc.
Now, not all systems will allow this, but some of the bad implementations will let this go on for ever.
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2)
One used by marketing?
[badum-ching]
Seriously, good point. But for security, I'd also expect the lockout to remain until manually cleared... not cleared automatically after a certain time.
Re:75 attempts? (Score:2)
Presumably, if you tried 5 attempts on 4 different accounts each, you'd still have a 90% chance of getting access to one.
As the article says: (Score:5, Insightful)
Hunt and peck for safety? (Score:3, Funny)
Guess that's all the more reason to keep that Cheetos bag crinkling as you type. Gotta stop the commies!
Re:Hunt and peck for safety? (Score:2, Interesting)
WARNING (Score:5, Funny)
Public Humiliation (Score:2)
good idea (Score:2, Insightful)
then lets say you find out whats THE is, then you find another word that is 5 letters that starts with 'THE', then you are going to fi
Great... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great... (Score:5, Funny)
Tinfoil was eliminated by the government and replaced with aluminum foil. Your wallpaper and hats only make you believe you're safe.
Re:Great... (Score:5, Funny)
You see while aluminum looks and feels a lot like aluminium, it is actually a differant material, so much so that it cannot be used as a tinfoil hat replacement.
Thus by duping the US citizens into believing that aluminum was just as good as aluminium (and more patriotic for the country), the government easily gained the capability of reading all of your thoughts, even when you thought they couldn't [*]
As of now, the rest of English speaking world sits smuggly by wearing our aluminium foil hats, safe in the knowledge that our thoughts are secure.
[*] Unfortunatley there was a side effect to being able to read the thoughts of everyone in the US. The summaries of such thoughts are used to brief the president in order to help him direct policy. But starting with the Shiny Shiny movements of the mid 80's suceeding presidents have slowly become paralysed by the thoughts of the mass population. This has come to a head with GWB being briefed hourly about how the population feels about JLo and Bennifer, while other, more important items are ignored.
The only possible solution to this is to disband the remote thought readings, but when confronted with leftist radical ideas like this, the CIA/Industro-Military Complex reacts violently and labels such ideas as being the work of terrorists. (It should be noted that these people are known to have holdings of aluminium manufacturers in other countries, thus securing their *private* supply of aluminium foil hats).
Use ASCII numerics, or pound the keyboard at login (Score:5, Interesting)
Or, don't worry. I mean, realistically, what are the odds of this crack actually happening in the non-ultra-spooky world? And once you're in that playground, it's biometrics, smartcards, etc., anyway, right?
Re:Use ASCII numerics, or pound the keyboard at lo (Score:4, Insightful)
1. The keystroke timing would be much different
2. Constantly making errors which require much backspace pressing
Windows On Screen Keyboard (Score:5, Interesting)
Easy Fix (Score:2, Funny)
Try it.
Glad I have a touchstream! (Score:2)
Typing (Score:2)
Crap! I use a Model M! (Score:3, Funny)
Different sounds (Score:2, Insightful)
...and it corrects typos! (Score:2)
Also I notice this paper was funded in part by the USPS. What is the USPS doing with this type of research?
Trying to make email SEEM insecure... (Score:2)
They can't ass-u-me that they get at least five pieces of mail going in both directions.
If digital forms of communications can't be cracked except by 'social engineering', they are going to further disappear. (Of course I still get 'snail' mail spam.)
But how depe
Re:...and it corrects typos! (Score:3, Funny)
To find methods to read your unopened mail by listening to it.
They actually found a practical use (Score:2)
Agent x86 (Score:5, Funny)
Now it's time to say goodbye, to all our company.. (Score:2, Funny)
If they'd done a little more research.... (Score:2)
Pffft.... (Score:2)
A little known fact (Score:3, Funny)
DUPE (Score:2)
Been there, done that (Score:5, Interesting)
It wasn't anything fancy, just familiarity with the sound that keyboard made and the usual pauses as fingers move to various keys.
I also used to be able to tell you what number was dialed from the touchtones.
P.S. a college friend said that he would occasionally talk to others in morse code after a long duty shift when he was in the military. Forget the nonsense in the introductory material - anyone who really knows morse code and knows it fast hears it as words. It's not hard to take the final step and speak it like you hear it.
bluejacking (Score:2)
2. Have it call your recording station.
3. Record keystrokes.
4. Recover passwords.
Due South (Score:3, Informative)
They were in the room when a guy typed in his password, they could see the keyboard or anything. Anyway, the mounty said that each key sounds slightly different. Anyway, after playing with the keyboard a few minutes he was able to guess it within a few tries.
Granted, the show as as fictitious as they come: "Canadians have computers!?!?" But it made some sense and afterwords I started playing with my keyboard I too realized most of them sounded slightly different.
However, I don't have "the ear" for such things (ie, I can't tell what phone number was pressed by the tone." I wonder if someone with a good enough ear can use this too their advantage though. Perhaps someone blind who's trained his ears well enough.
Then again, it's probably just a load.
A quick idea that just popped into my noggin: (Score:2)
"Click Click Bloody Click Click Pancakes!" (Score:2)
finally (Score:2)
Another argument for complex passwords (Score:2)
Sometimes, old tricks are the best tricks!
The implication... (Score:2)
-Rick
Don't panic (Score:5, Interesting)
While it is an interesting topic, controlled conditions are required for this to work correctly.
They use a deterministic method to find the next probable character for a given sequence. Deterministic in that if I type 't' and then type 'h' and there are only so many combinations available after that (this is the Markov chain part). Er basically a sort of decision coverage. That is used with the spell check dictionaries they mention for English text recognition. It is interesting too that they are using a neural network (though appropriate) to recognize the patterns. But because they did not make their own, the details are a bit brief.
The problem I see is that the password detection is not flushed out enough and based upon what they state, it is not as powerful as it sounds. The deterministic method won't work for all passwords (as they typically are not English). Their "analysis" is basically a speed up on a dictionary hack (it helps to know the size of the password from the keystrokes), eliminating possibilities by way of possible patterns. But what about special characters, does a shift+key sound that different? Mixed cases, etc? And the deterministic approach does not work if the password is random AND the network has to be trained for THAT persons typing style and keyboard. Is that likely?
I would be more worried about Van Eck Phreaking [wikipedia.org].
Phone eavesdropping (Score:3, Informative)
I assumed when I first heard about this that hi-fidelity microphones were employed, however, the researchers used cheap PC mics. In addition,
they speculate that eavesdropping over the phone is possible:
Re:lock out? (Score:2)
Re:Berkley != Berkeley (Score:5, Informative)
Step 6. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Passwords are obsolete (Score:3, Funny)