Wireless Keyboards and Hackers Mix All Too Well

Like the idea of a wire-free computer setup, complete with wireless keyboard, like this Kensington Ci70 we reviewed a few months ago? Not so fast: Unless your office is inside a lead-lined cubicle, you may be opening yourself up to getting hacked. According to this whitepaper (PDF) from Dreamlab Technologies, the encryption on Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 1000 and 2000 keyboards is so weak that a hacker with either the ability to track the handshake protocol between the keyboard's transponder and receiver or a dictionary file with the 256 encryptions the keyboard uses can set up a remote keylogger after 20 to 50 keystrokes, which can equate to as little as a minute's worth of security.

For those who think wireless convenience is worth the risk, there's some hope: according to the whitepaper, Logitech's keyboards have two extra layers of protection that may be enough to stop a potential hacker from snooping. Sounds like use at your own risk is the motto to follow.