Your smartwatch can be used to steal secured data- How ‘smartAttack’ works

A new tech-savvy scam has emerged that leverages smartwatches and air-gapped networks to steal even highly secured data. This new trick is being called “smartAttack”, and it sounds like a Mission: Impossible movie. This research-based scam is said to use the microphone of the smartwatch to get ultrasonic signals and steal data from an air-gapped system. This new scamming method was highlighted by researchers from Ben Gurion University, in which the report detailed how even the most secure data is vulnerable. Know more in detail about the SmartAttack taking place and how scammers are stealing sensitive data from secure systems. 

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How can SmartAttack steal highly secured data from air-gapped systems? 

Air-gapped systems are considered to be highly secure and are used by business and government officials to store confidential data. These systems are isolated from other systems, which makes the data protected. However, the air-gapped system can also be breached via infected USB drivers, insider threats, supply chain attacks, etc. Now, researchers from Ben Gurion University have highlighted that sensitive data from these air-gapped systems can be stolen using ultrasonic signals from smartwatches.

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Mordechai Guri, head of the Offensive Cyber Research Lab at Ben-Gurion University, said, “Our approach utilises the built-in microphones of smartwatches to capture covert signals in real time within the ultrasonic frequency range of 18–22 kHz.” This highlights the risk of carrying electronic items like smartwatches to a secure environment.

But how does it actually work? Well, it is reported that SmartAttack first looks for air-gapped systems with malware to gather crucial information such as credentials, encryption keys, and others via high-pitch ultrasonic sound, which is not audible to the human ear. Then the tiny microphone on the smartwatch can catch these sounds, and the information is then decoded using a malicious app inside the smartwatch.

Lastly, the stolen data on the smartwatch is then sent to scammers and attackers via wireless connections such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or even mobile data. The researchers highlighted that SmartAttack is “an underexplored yet effective attack vector”. However, it's quite challenging in the real world. Well, it's a hypothetical scenario, but it showcases how technology can be exploited with such malicious acts, and even the most secure systems are vulnerable to security threats. 

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