While technically enthralling, the recent buzz over the vulnerability discovered in the way manufactures wire keyboards is unwarranted. While it is too late for the concept to be worked into the next James Bond movie due out in two weeks, I am sure it will make it into either the next James Bond or Mission Impossible film. The idea, explained in a blog posting at the Security and Cryptography Laboratory at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, is that each key will emit slightly different electromagnetic signals when depressed. This is very similar to the Tempest concept of cathode ray tube images being reconstructed by remote sensing devices. mylar bags!
My contention is that while interesting this is not a threat that you should spend anytime worrying about. When was the last time you heard of a successful tempest attack? Or how about those proximity sensing card swipe machines? Have any hackers figured out how to steal money from your wallet when you brush against their illicit scanner? No. Some threats are possible, just not probable.
However, if you are truly worried about compromising key stroke emission sensing attacks have I got a solution for you: