Invisible laser beam detects what a MacBook user is typing | Technology

A whitehat hacker has demonstrated the use of an invisible laser beam to detect what a MacBook user is typing, from a distance, through a window, without being able to see the keyboard …

The principle of using a laser beam to detect and decode soundwaves has long been demonstrated. You can, for example, shine a laser at a window, and decode the microscopic movements of the glass caused by people talking to reveal what they are saying.

Samy Kamkar, who runs the YouTube channel Applied Hacking, wanted to see how far he could push this technique. What he set out to do was:

• Use an invisible (ie. infrared) laser beam, instead of a visible-light model
• Shoot it through a window to the back of a MacBook
• Detect the vibrations in the MacBook casing caused by keystrokes
• Decode the individual keystroke sounds to identify each key
• From that, work out what was being typed

Wired reports that Kamkar has been wanting to do this for a long time.

Kamkar…