Exploiting mouse sensors for eavesdropping and machine learning-based sound processing

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel side-channel attack named the M-Listening Mouse, which exploits the high precision and sensitivity of modern optical mouse sensors to secretly eavesdrop on user speech by detecting minute vibrations on the desktop surface. Audio signals can cause subtle vibrations on the desktop, which can be sensed by the optical sensors of the mouse. Attackers can utilize malware to infect the computer’s peripheral hardware, thereby collecting and transmitting these sensitive side-channel data through user-space software on popular operating systems, without requiring direct system-level permissions.