Hackers can decode your password just from the sound of typing: study

BusinessToday.In   New Delhi    
Last Updated: August 20, 2019

Hackers can guess your password correctly just from the sound of typing on a keyboard, a new study has revealed.  Cyber security experts from Southern Methodist University in Texas have found that while typing on a keyboard, sound waves are produced which can successfully be decoded by a hackers' smartphone.  

In tests researchers were easily able to detect what was being typed with accuracy just from a microphone found on a mobile. This method can not only crack a person's password but can also figure out someone's personal mails or messages.

A smartphone can intercept the acoustic signals that can be processed allowing a hacker to decipher what a person was typing. In fact, even in a noisy place the password can be detected easily.

The researchers warned that a person would have no clue that they are being hacked, however there are certain caveats to the method. A hacker would need to know the material on which a victim is typing on as metal, plastic surfaces produce different sound pattern.

Reference

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