Don't Write That Confidential Email In Public! AI Can Now Snag Keystroke Sounds With 95 Percent Accuracy
And don't type anything you don't want the world to know about while using Zoom either.
(Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawyers used to worry that confidential conversations on cell phones could get intercepted. A weird concern where those lawyers were much more likely to loudly carry on about confidential matters in public voluntarily.
Those embarrassing tales don’t come up as much these days, but it’s less a result of newfound conscientiousness and more a factor of the widespread acceptance of text communication. Why treat the rest of the Acela to all the details of your client’s impending deal when you can fire off an email or Slack message? With a cheap privacy filter screen guard, no one else has to know what you’ve typed about opposing counsel.
But that’s no longer the safe haven it once was, as researchers have trained an AI to use an iPhone mic to detect and translate the sounds of user keystrokes.
The results that the researchers got were impressive. They found out that when trained on keystrokes recorded by a nearby phone, the model achieves an accuracy of 95%. Further, the model showed an accuracy of 93% when trained on keystrokes recorded using the video-conferencing software Zoom. The researchers emphasize that their results prove the practicality of side-channel attacks via off-the-shelf equipment and algorithms.
Whether it’s confidential messages or passwords, everything the user types can be snagged. And yet another compelling reason to mute Zoom unless you’re actively speaking. Maybe it’s time to finally invest in that DVORAK keyboard!
If only there were some way to minimize the exposure of firm secrets as attorneys commute back and forth to the office. Perhaps some mechanism to keep them in one place away from prying onlookers armed with smartphone microphones?
Too bad there’s no proven model for generating firm profits without a lengthy commute, eh?
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
