So much for wireless keyboards

For years I've refused to use wireless keyboards because I believed their signals could be intercepted and decoded by keylogging software.  Turns out I was right.

If you use a wireless keyboard you may be broadcasting everything you type to hackers – from passwords to credit cards numbers and private emails - as a researcher shows how a homemade bugging device can be made for just £6 [less than US $10].

The creator of the listening device – who has also built a predatory drone which chases and hacks into other drones - has posted a list of components, instructions and source code online to allow anyone to make their own.

The KeySweeper can collect every keystroke made on a nearby keyboard locally and also beams it back to the attacker who placed it via a small chip which acts like a mobile phone.

. . .

Perhaps the most dangerous feature is that it can be made to send an SMS alert to the attacker if a certain combination of letters is detected. It could, for instance, watch for the website address of an online bank and alert the attacker that a password and username is likely to be typed in shortly.

There's more at the link.

Here at home, all the stand-alone keyboards used by Miss D. and I are connected to our computers by USB cables.  I strongly recommend that if you use wireless keyboards, you should switch to the older wired technology.  It's not difficult for someone to intercept your keyboard's signals - and if you type things like intimate personal information or do online banking or payments, the snooper can find out everything needed to steal your identity and misuse your accounts.

Peter