This DIY Wireless Keylogger Fits Anywhere, Looks Like a Wall Charger
KeySweeper is a tiny Arduino-based wireless sniffer that collects data sent from your wireless keyboard to the receiver. That’s right – this is a keylogger, and it doesn’t need to be connected to a computer to work.
This post is part of our Evil Week series on Lifehacker where we take a look at the dark side of goal achievement. Sometimes evil is justified, and sometimes knowing evil means knowing how to defeat it. I want more? Visit our wicked week tags page .
Let’s note right away that not every wireless keyboard is vulnerable to this type of eavesdropping. Bluetooth keyboards and newer keyboards that use AES between the keyboard and its paired wireless receiver are not receptive. Obviously, if you’re worried about something like this and want to protect yourself, a wired keyboard is ordered – or you can learn a thing or two about a hack, put it together, and test your own keyboard to see what it’s sensitive to.
However, back in January (yes, I stuck with this for a long time, mostly because it’s perfect for Evil Week!) Kamkar Sami pulled a Microsoft wireless keyboard off the shelf at his local Best Buy store, and despite that, Microsoft’s more recent statement that: a: many manufacturers are vulnerable to this and b: their keyboards were not updated and it worked like a charm.
Once the firmware is uploaded to the Arduino, you simply plug the whole thing into the hollowed out wall charger for the Arduino to get power, and wait. You can add a GSM chip to send the captured credentials or keystrokes to your phone wirelessly, or you can add a flash memory chip to the mix and get the captured data the next time you’re in range of the analyzer. KeySweeper can even send SMS alerts for certain keystrokes, and if someone pulls it out of the wall, it looks like it stops working, but it’s actually powered by an internal battery that charges the next time you plug it in.
You can watch a step-by-step guide to KeySweeper features in the video above, or follow the link below to get everything you need to create your own, including parts and code. As always, use your abilities for good – and for good hacking fun.
KeySweeper | via Ars Technica and Hackaday