American Security Today's 2016 CHAMPIONS EDITION Digital Magazine AST 2016 CHAMPIONS EDITION | Page 98

Volume 9
Champions Edition tasking or jack remapping . Malware can stealthily reconfigure the headphone jack from a line-out jack to a microphone jack , making the connected headphones function as a pair of recording microphones and turning the computer into an eavesdropping device .
This works even when the computer doesn ’ t have a connected microphone , as demonstrated in the SPEAKE ( a ) R video .
American Associates , Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ( AABGU ) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion ’ s vision : creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert , nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University ’ s expertise locally and around the globe .
As Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ( BGU ) looks ahead to turning 50 in 2020 , AABGU imagines a future that goes beyond the walls of academia . It is a future where BGU invents a new world and inspires a vision for a stronger Israel and its next generation of leaders .
( Learn More about Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , courtesy of Ben-Gurion University and YouTube )
The BGU researchers studied several attack scenarios to evaluate the signal quality of simple off-the-shelf headphones .
Together with supporters , AABGU will help the University foster excellence in teaching , research and outreach to the communities of the Negev for the next 50 years and beyond . Visit vision . aabgu . org to learn more .
AABGU , which is headquartered in Manhattan , has nine regional offices throughout the United States .
“ We demonstrated is possible to acquire intelligible audio through earphones up to several meters away ,” said Dr . Yosef Solewicz , an acoustic researcher at the BGU CSRC .
Potential software countermeasures include completely disabling audio hardware , using an HD audio driver to alert users when microphones are being accessed , and developing and enforcing a strict rejacking policy within the industry .
Anti-malware and intrusion detection systems could also be developed to monitor and detect unauthorized speaker-to-mic retasking operations and block them .
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