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Capturing data…
Capturing data…
TUE, 3 NOV · 81 ITEMS
"Leaking secrets from air-gap computers by spelling radio signals from RAM (2024)" — Hacker News (best) · AI & Technology
This is a cybersecurity proof-of-concept called RAMBO, from Mordechai Guri's lab at Ben-Gurion University, showing that malware on a physically isolated (air-gapped) computer can make the RAM's emit low-power radio signals. Data is "spelled" by shifting the emitted frequencies, and a nearby receiver (e.g., a phone or ) can decode it, exfiltrating secrets at up to roughly 1,000 bits per second under ideal conditions. The practical caveat is that the machine must already be infected and the receiver within a few meters, so it is a sophisticated path rather than a remote network attack.
The claim rests directly on an arXiv preprint by Guri et al. (2409.02292), with a live demo and detailed measurements, so the experimental finding itself is solid. The surrounding news coverage (Tech Xplore, Hacker News) faithfully reports the paper; the limitation is that it is a lab demonstration requiring pre-existing malware and close physical proximity, not something observed in the wild.
The underlying paper dates from September 2024 (recirculation year 2024), while the current wave of articles is from November 1, 2026 — so this is old research being newly re-reported, not a genuinely new finding.