Motion sensors in high-performance mice can be used as a microphone to spy on users, thanks to AI — Mic-E-Mouse technique harnesses mouse sensors, converts acoustic vibrations into speech

A group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have developed a way to use the sensors in high-quality optical mice to capture subtle vibrations and convert them into audible data. According to the abstract of Mic-E-Mouse (full PDF here), the high polling rate and sensitivity of high-performance optical mice pick up acoustic vibrations from the surface where they sit. By running the raw data through signal processing and machine learning techniques, the team could hear what the user was saying through their desk.

Mouse sensors with a 20,000 DPI or higher are vulnerable to this attack. And with the best gaming mice becoming more affordable annually, even relatively affordable peripherals are at risk. It all begins when a user has a mouse like this attached to a compromised computer.

Note that this compromise does not necessarily mean a complicated virus installed through a backdoor — it can be as simple as an infected FOSS that requires high-frequency mouse data, like creative apps or video games. This means it’s not unusual for the software to gather this data. From there, the collected raw data can be extracted from the target computer and processed off-site. "With only a vulnerable mouse, and a victim’s computer running compromised or even benign software (in the case of a web-based attack surface), we show that it is possible to collect mouse packet data and extract audio waveforms," the researchers state.

The processing works like this: the raw audio data is run through digital signal processing using a Wiener Filter, where you can start to hear some information. This is then further cleared up through a neural model, giving the researchers clear audio.

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Although this is a novel method for extracting audio from unsuspecting targets, it’s not exactly the first time that someone has attempted to covertly record targets. One famous example from the Cold War was when the KGB gifted the American ambassador in Moscow a replica of the Great Seal with an embedded passive microphone. It only activated when it was hit by a high-frequency radio signal, leaving it undetected for nearly seven years.

The concept of the Mic-E-Mouse is similar — using an unsuspecting device to capture audio data. However, this method is empowered by AI models, allowing the researchers to get a speech recognition accuracy of about 42 to 61%, effectively turning your mouse into an eavesdropping microphone, though.

The proof of concept is certainly unnerving, but it will hopefully prompt future steps taken to prevent this sort of acoustic privacy violation, the kind that would have been unthinkable in a world before AI.

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