DiskFiltration: Do you think your data is secure because your computer is not connected to the Internet or a network? Error!
As they proved recently security researchers, the sounds of your computer's hard drive can be used to transmit data over the air even from a seemingly well-protected system.
DiskFiltration hack, proven by video at the end of publication by security researcher Mordechai Guri of Ben-Gurion University in Israel, works by controlling the hard disk drive actuator as it moves the platters back and forth to read and write data.
Think of it as an arm of the turntable, which however moves back and forth continuously at terrifying speeds.
As the actuator moves, it produces small sounds. Do you know the sounds when you start a computer?
Some of that noise comes from the machine's hard drive, and a good one at that malware installed, these sounds can leak sensitive data over the air to a nearby device, such as a smartphone.
DiskFiltration has a working range of approx two meters, but is limited with a slow speed data at around 180 bits per minute. The speed, although low, is enough to "catch" a complex encryption key, say 4096-bit RSA, in about 25 minutes. The method does not work with SSDs that have no moving parts.
Watch the video
