Researchers Use Smartwatch To Spy What Users Are Typing On a Keyboard 38
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers have created an app that follows the micro-movements of your smartwatch and is able to detect what keys you're pressing with your left hand, and guess what words you may be typing on a keyboard. The app developed for the Motion Leaks (MoLe) project only works on a Samsung Gear Live smartwatch, but researchers say that in theory, a similar app could be developed for other smartwatch makes and models.
eagle system (Score:5, Funny)
I doubt that. I'm using the eagle system, circling over the keyboard until I detect the prey (right key) and then I let it fall down on it (or near it) naturally always with the same finger.
It should be easier with touch typists.
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Is that a variation on the "hunt and peck" method?
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I've seen them hunt rabbits, but I've never seen them hunt carrions. For that matter, I've never seen that animal. Is it related to the nauga?
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Majestic as fuck [imgur.com]
Re: Technique already devised to thwart app (Score:2)
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One Handed Typing Activies (Score:5, Insightful)
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Take the computers and fire them into space. That's how you get security.
"The three golden rules to ensure computer security are: do not own a computer; do not power it on; and do not use it." -Robert Morris Sr
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Eventually mandatory security procedure will be to use all computers while naked, in a soundproof room with no lighting, electrical supply, gas supply, A/C or other ventilation. There will be no networks, communications or transmission media, nor any transmission methods. There shall be no WiFi, no RF, no flag waving or gesturing. Computers will have no ports, no hardware interfaces, no functionality, and cannot be in the same room as the operator. The computers must also be inaccessible to any third party that isn't approved by the organization. The approval process is strict enough so as to prevent anyone ever becoming an approved maintenance contractor.
Sounds like the TSA's wet dream for flyers.
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I wonder text it detects when you actually look at the adult site.
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But how are you supposed to increase your "step" count?
There has to be a joke in here somewhere (Score:1)
fap fap guess the keys now
Acoustic is better (Score:5, Interesting)
This is an interesting although convoluted method to determine what is being typed. It has already been demonstrated that the acoustics from typing can be used to identify what is being typed. Most smart watches have microphones. It makes more sense to use the microphone right next to the keyboard to capture very high quality audio so close to the source and then analyze it acoustically to determine what was typed (which captures data from BOTH hands). It will also work if the user takes off their watch and lays it nearby.
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~ty... [berkeley.edu]
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It only makes more sense if you ignore that you need to create a detailed accoustic profile of that exact keyboard in that exact position before you can interpret the noise...
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Obviously you didn't read the research paper I referenced.
In this paper we argue that a labeled training sample requirement is unnecessary
for an attacker. This implies keyboard emanation attacks are more serious than
previous work suggests.
We built a prototype that can bootstrap the recognizer from about 10 minutes of
English text typing, using about 30 minutes of computation on a desktop computer
with a Pentium IV 3.0G CPU and 1GB of memory. After the bootstrap step, it
could recognize language-independent keystrokes in real time, including random
keystrokes occurring in passwords, with an accuracy rate of about 90%.
Of course sound can be recorded and thus post-processed whenever a large enough corpus has been captured. Thus you could type for small 1 minute periods at a time over the course of days, and once 10 minutes worth of recordings had been captured from that specific keyboard, it could be analyzed, and after that interpreted in real-time if desired.
Fooled ya! (Score:3)
Re:Fooled ya! (Score:5, Funny)
Fool! You think these scientists haven't thought of that? Of course they have.
The interesting part is that it still captures what the left hand is doing. Some weird entanglement issue, I believe.
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They'd have to record the micro-movements of my pants pocket where I keep my cell phone
Well, if your browsing one of those sites, your "pant pocket"'s movements won't be micro...
Portable keyboard (Score:1)
Why aren't they using this to make a virtual keyboard? Just wear two wrist bands and you can type on any surface.
Don't dig too deep, you won't like what you see (Score:5, Funny)
I think they'll detect other kinds of movements made with the left hand.
In before fap fap... (Score:2)
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Smart watches (Score:2)
Smarter than their owner...
another reason (Score:2)
and that's another reason not to buy a smartwatch.
today it's only done by researchers, i'm sure it will stay that way.
as if all those smartphone apps aren't spying enough already.
Dvorak Foils This! (Score:2)