![]() The researchers designed their malware to take into consideration normal temperature fluctuations of a computer and distinguish these from fluctuations that signal a system is trying to communicate. The receiving computer, representing the air-gapped system, then translated this binary code into a command that caused it to reposition the toy missile launcher. Then to transmit a "0" they restored the system to its base temperature for another predefined timeframe. To communicate a binary "1" in their demonstration for example, the researchers increased the heat emissions of the transmitting computer by just 1 degree over a predefined timeframe. The technique works a bit like Morse code, with the transmitting system using controlled increases of heat to communicate with the receiving system, which uses its built-in thermal sensors to then detect the temperature changes and translate them into a binary "1" or "0." The attack, which the researchers dubbed BitWhisper, uses these sensors to send commands to an air-gapped system or siphon data from it. They could also use the internet-connected system to send malicious commands to the air-gapped system using the same heat and sensor technique. ![]() The method would allow attackers to surreptitiously siphon passwords or security keys from a protected system and transmit the data to an internet-connected system that's in close proximity and that the attackers control. To siphon data from an air-gapped system generally requires physical access to the machine, using removable media like a USB flash drive or a firewire cable to connect the air-gapped system directly to another computer.īut security researchers at Ben Gurion University in Israel have found a way to retrieve data from an air-gapped computer using only heat emissions and a computer's built-in thermal sensors. Even journalists use them to prevent intruders from remotely accessing sensitive data. ![]() Air-gapped systems, which are isolated from the Internet and are not connected to other systems that are connected to the Internet, are used in situations that demand high security because they make siphoning data from them difficult.Īir-gapped systems are used in classified military networks, the payment networks that process credit and debit card transactions for retailers, and in industrial control systems that operate critical infrastructure. ![]()
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