AIR-GAPPED COMPUTER SYSTEMS/NETWORKS CAN BE BREACHED/COMPROMISED USING HEAT EMISSIONS FROM THE TARGETED DEVICE — SAY ISRAELI RESEARCHERS; BREACHING OF AIR-GAPPED SYSTEMS IS GETTING MORE SOPHISTICATED…AND ELEGANT

by RC Porter

March 23, 2015

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Air-Gapped Computer Systems/Networks Can Be Breached/Compromised Using Heat Emissions From The Targeted Device — Say Israeli Researchers; Breaching Of Air-Gapped Systems Is Getting More Sophisticated…And Elegant

Kim Zetter, writing on the March 23, 2015 website, Wired.com,notes that “air-gapped systems, which are isolated from the Internet; and, not connected to other systems that are connected to the Internet, are used in situations that demand high security…because they make siphoning data from them difficult.” She correctly observes that “air-gapped systems are [commonly] used in classified military networks,” as well as in the intelligence community, the defense industrial base, financial sector, and critical infrastructure sectors. “To siphon data from air-gapped systems, generally requires physical access to the machine/computer/network, using removable media like a USB flash drive, or a fire-wire cable to connect the air-gapped system directly to another computer,” she wrote.

But, that sense of security that we think we have with respect to air-gapped system — may be wrong. Ms. Zetter writes that “researchers at Ben Gurion University in Israel, have found a way to retrieve data from an air-gapped computer, using only heat emissions; and, a computer’s built-in thermal sensors.