Is Your Mind a Hacker’s Next Target? Scientists Test Feasibility of Cheap Devices and ‘Brain Spyware’
- Posted on August 27, 2012 at 5:42pm by
Liz Klimas
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An international group of researchers have presented a successful method to show how hackers could use a relatively cheap piece of equipment and software to gain access to secrets inside your mind.
Presented earlier this month at the USENIX Security Symposium, “On the Feasibility of Side-Channel Attacks With Brain-Computer Interfaces” discusses how with the emergence of technology that allows users to communicate via their thoughts alone, software could be developed to spy on things like your pin number or other passwords.
“The security risks involved in using consumer-grade BCI devices have never been studied and the impact of malicious software with access to the device is unexplored,” the researchers abstract reads. “We take a first step in studying the security implications of such devices and demonstrate that this upcoming technology could be turned against users to reveal their private and secret information. We use inexpensive electroencephalography (EEG) based BCI devices to test the feasibility of simple, yet effective, attacks.”
This headset sells for only $299. (Image: Emotiv)
CNET has more on the presentation:
The research was inspired by the growing number of games and other mind apps available for low-cost consumer EEG devices such as Emotiv’s EPOC headset, which lets users interact with computers using their thoughts alone.
Malicious developers could create a “brain spyware” app designed to trick users into thinking about sensitive information, which it would then steal.
The researchers tested the feasibility of this by outfitting 28 subjects with Emotive headsets, which are available to anyone for $299. They showed these subjects images like bank cards and ATMs and asked them specific questions. The researchers then used signal processing software to analyze their brainwaves.
What they found was that the uncertainty of guessing the private information was decreased 15 to 40 percent when the technology was used compared to random guessing.
CNET reports the researchers saying:
“The captured EEG signal could reveal the user’s private information about, e.g., bank cards, PIN numbers,” the researchers conclude.
“This is still very noisy data signal, (and the) devices are not made for detecting these kinds of patterns,” Martinovic told the conference, “but it was possible to see that in any of these experiments, we could actually perform better than a pure random guess.”
Researcher Ivan Martinovic said it is only a matter of time before the technology improves leaving minds vulnerable to divulging information that could give hackers more accuracy in their attacks.
Learn more about how the Emotiv EPOC headset works in this TED video from a couple years ago:
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woodyee
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:53pmImagine using these at the voting booth, where the eeg records ones vote based on their true “feelings”…
Perforated feces, Batman…
Report Post »cosmic dogma
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:24pmSooo creepy. Perhaps limit the gaming of your younguns… just a thought. Pun intended.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:23pmHmn… Another way to attempt the theft of personal belongings…figures.
Report Post »ECtech
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:23pmWhile this is interesting — does this allow men to understand women?
Report Post »Twobyfour
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:43pmNo. But if you consider that there are several patterns or strategies that women in general deploy and learn to read body language–mystery solved. They are actually quite transparent, if you accept several premises it is actually quite surprising how predictable they are. If you need further data/education, you can email to personaldevilopment_at_gmail_dot_com and I’ll give you some leads.
Report Post »OlefromMN
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:44pmHah!
I don’t think God even understands them. He knew it would be trouble as soon as Eve took the bite.
Report Post »ECtech
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:51pm@TWOBYFOUR
I was actually being facetious. I’ve known enough women in my lifetime to have them figured out. Sometimes though, they can still throw you for a loop.
Report Post »Twobyfour
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:09pmOlefromMN, nothing to “understand”. Their minds work on different pathways (bell curve distribution considered and being aware that we are talking averages). It’s like with Quantum Theory–once you accept some basic parameters, then you can figure ‘em out. On the surface, it may seem to be highly illogical, but there is a degree of internal consistency.
Report Post »Twobyfour
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 7:10pmECtech, yes, if you let ‘em.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:17pmWhen my wife and I go to the mall, I end up sitting on the chairs outside the stores. Now I plan on getting slapped quite a bit from total strangers.
Report Post »OlefromMN
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:12pmI may have to rethink joking about Ron Paul supporters wearing tinfoil hats. They may have a niche market here.
Report Post »Angel_light
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:01pmMind hacking? creepy
Report Post »nowonuno
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 11:50pmBy the time the hackers figure this out, the mind numb public will only offer blank screens.
Report Post »watersRpeople
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:00pmOooo, what are they going to find out – what people had for breakfast? Reading someone’s mind is reading their mind but not their spirit. Case in point, they won’t be able to read someone raising-up their spirit like Moses did.
Report Post »Twobyfour
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 6:51pmI am not sure if everyone can get to the Moses stage. but there would be a market for a biofeedback tools that would enable you to scramble the output after some training and send completely false data. Maybe even achieve an ability to send a “bomb” back to the hacker (analogous to a very loud noise when you suspect you’re bugged via some audio transmission device). I can see a potential for a lot of fun.
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on August 27, 2012 at 5:51pmIf they discovered the secrets in most people’s minds the people who did would likely fall sound asleep and never want to wake up again. From what I‘ve seen it’d likely be pretty dismal. Not many rocket scientists wandering around.
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