/. [Keyboard Sound Aids Password Cracking]

[Trei, Peter]

Eugen Leitl wrote
> 
> Link: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/13/1644259
> Posted by: CmdrTaco, on 2005-09-13 17:04:00
> 
>    from the but-i-love-clicky-keyboards dept.
>    [1]stinerman writes "Three students at UC-Berkley used a 10 minute
>    [2]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 [3]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.'"

This technique is decades old. I read an account of the British
Secret Service (MI5? 6?) installing a bugged phone next to a 
cable machine in the London Soviet Embassy in the late 70's, but
the events described took place earlier - perhaps in the 60s.

Peter Trei