Researchers in the UK claim to have translated the sound of laptop keystrokes into their corresponding letters with 95 percent accuracy in some cases.
That 95 percent figure was achieved with nothing but a nearby iPhone. Remote methods are just as dangerous: over Zoom, the accuracy of recorded keystrokes only dropped to 93 percent, while Skype calls were still 91.7 percent accurate.
In other words, this is a side channel attack with considerable accuracy, minimal technical requirements, and a ubiquitous data exfiltration point: Microphones, which are everywhere from our laptops, to our wrists, to the very rooms we work in.
Quite scary considering the accuracy and how many open mics everyone is surrounded by without even realizing it. Not to mention if any content creator types their password while live streaming or recording they could get their accounts stolen.
One more reason to switch to a password manager, even though they could still find out the master password…
Probably still have some safety if you’re using two-factor, or have a master key in addition to a password (e.g. 1Password).
Or use a local password safe like keepass.