Van Eck Phreaking
or More reasons to be paranoid
By Kevin Rose, TechTV

Every time you open a new web page or launch an application, your monitor emits electromagnetic fields that represent the graphics displayed on-screen. An 80x80 white pixel box emits different EM fields than a 300x300 white pixel box. On tonight's "Screen Savers" I'll tell you about the people who use van Eck phreaking to pick up on these fields and see what's on your monitor. And I'll explain how to block the snoops.

What the heck is van Eck phreaking?

Over the years, programmers developed methods and algorithms to convert EM fields to screen ghosts to view your screen data without using cables or cameras. According to whatis.com, "Van Eck phreaking is a form of eavesdropping in which special equipment is used to pick up telecommunication signals or data within a computer device by monitoring and picking up the electromagnetic fields"

The U.S. government has been involved with EM interpretation for many years under a top-secret program code-named "TEMPEST" A few years ago, some TEMPEST documents were declassified for public viewing. Now, applications such as Tempest for Eliza (Linux), are freely available and can easily demonstrate van Eck phreaking.

Build an electromagnetic shield

You can protect yourself against this type of eavesdropping by building a Faraday cage. A Faraday cage surrounds your workstation or monitor and blocks EM fields before they can reach the prying eyes of hackers.

You can buy TEMPEST-spec copper mesh for construction of your own Faraday cage from TWP.

posted by awiggins | 11:29 AM