Cyber Espionage Through Monitor Emissions

This chapter was written in response to a comment from a subscriber who lamented that there was an inaccuracy in the test of knowledge in the field of anonymity and online security, namely that methods for stealing passwords through the analysis of monitor emissions do exist.


An example was given of a video where the sound generated by the monitor's image was received on a radio receiver. I found the original demonstration and suggest you take a look at it. The author clearly and thoroughly explains the technical details of the attack in his video, and there is no point in duplicating them in the text.

There are some nuances that I want to draw your attention to. The technology for collecting data based on the analysis of monitor emissions, with good equipment, allows for monitoring the activity on the victim's computer from a distance, for example, spying on neighbors. The attacker using this method can recognize activities on the victim's computer such as viewing adult content, watching a football match, or launching a computer game.

This method can provide data for further attacks, such as: the version of the operating system, the programs used, and the websites visited. By analyzing the victim's behavior, one can assess their level of competence.

However, the quality of existing solutions does not allow for reading correspondence or stealing passwords, even if they are recorded in a text document. The exception is passwords written in a document with a huge font, but this is rather an exception.

Here is a screenshot from the video author. As you can see, the quality is sufficient to understand what the user is doing, but not enough to read their correspondence.


In any case, you should know and remember about this attack. Protection against it is a matter of creating radio interference, and it lies outside the scope of this course. If desired, you can find detailed instructions on thematic forums and websites.