# USBee: Air-Gap Covert-Channel via Electromagnetic Emission from USB

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.08397 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.08397/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 30 Aug 2016.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [MeMoir: A Software-Driven Covert Channel based on Memory Usage](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.13310/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In recent years researchers have demonstrated how attackers could use USB connectors implanted with RF transmitters to exfiltrate data from secure, and even air-gapped, computers (e.g., COTTONMOUTH in the leaked NSA ANT catalog). Such methods require a hardware modification of the USB plug or device, in which a dedicated RF transmitter is embedded. In this paper we present USBee, a software that can utilize an unmodified USB device connected to a computer as a RF transmitter. We demonstrate how a software can intentionally generate controlled electromagnetic emissions from the data bus of a USB connector. We also show that the emitted RF signals can be controlled and modulated with arbitrary binary data. We implement a prototype of USBee, and discuss its design and implementation details including signal generation and modulation. We evaluate the transmitter by building a receiver and demodulator using GNU Radio. Our evaluation shows that USBee can be used for transmitting binary data to a nearby receiver at a bandwidth of 20 to 80 BPS (bytes per second).