Once installed, the malicious software first encodes the data to be stolen. Otherwise, the attacker would need physical access to install the attack payload. Naturally, the attacker would first have to install malicious software onto the targeted machine, but as we've seen with Stuxnet and other attacks, USB devices with malicious code can spread malware inside protected systems. Likewise, attackers can employ other mechanisms to steal important data, like files and images. This attack can be used in concert with keyloggers to steal passwords or other sensitive data.

In this case, the researcher used the SATA cable as a wireless antenna that operated on the 6 GHz frequency band, thus transmitting a short message to the nearby laptop. Researcher Mordechai Guri at the University of the Negev, Israel, has accomplished the feat by converting a standard SATA cable into a radio transmitter, but without actually making any physical modifications to the hardware.Īs with all computer interfaces, the SATA bus generates electromagnetic interference during normal operation, and if used correctly, that interference can be manipulated and then used to transmit data. As such, it requires ultra-sophisticated techniques to steal data from them. These systems are entirely isolated from any connection to the outside world, like a network or the internet, and also don't have any hardware that can communicate wirelessly, like wireless Bluetooth or Wi-Fi hardware. Some of the most sensitive data on the planet is stored in air-gapped systems. The ubiquitous SATA connection is used in billions of devices worldwide to connect hard drives and SSDs inside a PC, making it the perfect target for hackers looking for a sophisticated attack with a wide footprint. The software-based technique can work from user space or through a virtual machine (VM), and you can see a short demo in the embedded video below. Researchers today revealed a new 'SATAn' attack that can turn a SATA cable into a radio transmitter, thus allowing a hacker to exfiltrate data from a system that isn't connected to a network and transmit it to a receiver 1m away - all without physically modifying the SATA cable or hardware. (Image credit: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

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