On this episode of Techwise, Brad Huddleston shares some important information about the dangers of AI and cybersecurity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can monitor what we type by listening to the sounds of our keyboards. A group of researchers from British universities has created a powerful AI program that can pick up and interpret the sounds made when keys are pressed, using a microphone.
This model can accurately recognise what is being typed with 95% accuracy. This discovery raises serious concerns about acoustic side channel attacks, a new area of cybersecurity that is becoming a bigger issue.
“Simply put,” says Brad, “as you are typing, the algorithm is able to know what you’re typing and retain that information. This might include things like logins, passwords, credit card information or private conversations.”
The AI can hear the clicks and taps of the keys, even on very quiet keyboards. The researchers tested it using a MacBook Pro, showing that even premium devices are not safe from this kind of spying. The recorded sounds can include sensitive information.
The Dangers of AI and Cybersecurity
The study also explored how the AI performed with different online platforms. When it was trained with Zoom, it still managed to guess what was being typed with 93% accuracy. Although this is slightly lower, it’s still very concerning when we think about privacy issues during remote work and online meetings. It also had an accuracy of 91.7% with Skype.
These results show that even common software and hardware are at risk from these new spying attacks. “Mitigation strategies include using biometric passwords to avoid typing,” says Brad, “and using two-step verification. Also using the Shift key to create a mixture of upper and lower case, or numbers and symbols. And simply not typing during video conference calls such as Zoom.”
“Atificial intelligence is listening, and it’s stealing.”
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