Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Endpoint Security

Hackers Can Exfiltrate Data From Air-Gapped Computers Via Fan Vibrations

A researcher was able to exfiltrate data from air-gapped computers using vibrations produced by controlling the rotation speed of the machines’ internal fans.

A researcher was able to exfiltrate data from air-gapped computers using vibrations produced by controlling the rotation speed of the machines’ internal fans.

Previously, researchers demonstrated that it was possible to exfiltrate data from air-gapped systems via heat emissions, HDD LEDs, infrared cameras, magnetic fields, power lines, router LEDs, scanners, screen brightness, USB devices, and noise from hard drives and fans.

The newly proposed technique relies on the fact that the entire structure on which a computer is placed is affected by the vibrations produced by the device’s internal fans, and uses sensors in modern smartphones to sense these vibrations.

In order to transmit data from networkless computers, researcher Mordechai Guri from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, has implemented AiR-ViBeR, new malware that can encode binary information and modulate it over a low frequency vibrational carrier.

The malware-generated vibrations can then be sensed and decoded by a malicious application on a smartphone placed on the same surface, such as an office desk. Because a mobile device’s sensors such as the accelerometer can be accessed by a malicious application even without asking for the user’s permission, the attack is highly evasive, the researcher argues.

“Our results show that using AiR-ViBeR, data can be exfiltrated from air-gapped computer to a nearby smartphone on the same table, or even an adjacent table, via vibrations,” Guri notes in a research paper (PDF).

To mount such an attack, an adversary would first need to compromise both the air-gapped computer (the transmitter) and the mobile phone of an employee (the receiver). The attack model also assumes that the employee carries the smartphone around the workplace.

Once the attacker was able to compromise the targeted organization’s environment, malware on the transmitter gathers information of interest, then encodes it and sends it to the environment via vibrations on the surface. The nearby infected smartphone receives the data, decodes it, and sends it to the attacker over the Internet.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The research mainly focused on the chassis fan, which produces the highest level of vibrations, but CPU and GPU fans can also be used. The AiR-ViBeR malware, the researcher explains, can manipulate the rotation speed of the chassis fan to create vibrations.

Data modulated on top of the vibrations is transmitted in small packets that contain a preamble header, a payload, and a parity bit. According to the researcher, data can be “exfiltrated at a speed of half a bit per second via the covert vibrations.”

Related: Hackers Can Steal Data From Air-Gapped Computers Via Screen Brightness

Related: China-linked Hackers Targeting Air-Gapped Systems: Report

Related: Hackers Can Steal Cryptocurrency From Air-Gapped Wallets: Researcher

Written By

Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Malware & Threats

The NSA and FBI warn that a Chinese state-sponsored APT called BlackTech is hacking into network edge devices and using firmware implants to silently...

Endpoint Security

Today, on January 10, 2023, Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) and Windows 8.1 have reached their end of support dates.

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant VMware on Tuesday shipped urgent updates to fix a trio of security problems in multiple software products, including a virtual machine...

Cyberwarfare

An engineer recruited by intelligence services reportedly used a water pump to deliver Stuxnet, which reportedly cost $1-2 billion to develop.

Malware & Threats

Unpatched and unprotected VMware ESXi servers worldwide have been targeted in a ransomware attack exploiting a vulnerability patched in 2021.

Malware & Threats

Apple’s cat-and-mouse struggles with zero-day exploits on its flagship iOS platform is showing no signs of slowing down.