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Researchers from Princeton and MIT have uncovered a method for intercepting underwater communications, challenging long-standing assumptions about the security of sonar transmissions. By using radar to detect the tiny surface vibrations caused by underwater acoustic signals, the team has demonstrated how these signals can be decoded from the air, offering significant security implications for sensitive data transmitted underwater.
The team detailed their findings in a paper presented at the ACM MobiCom conference on November 20. According to TechXplore, they explained how their device can pick up vibrations on the water’s surface, allowing it to eavesdrop on underwater messages. This technique could also potentially identify the location of the transmitting underwater device, making it a powerful tool for intelligence gathering or adversarial actions.
The researchers tested the technology in Lake Carnegie, a small artificial lake in Princeton, demonstrating its potential in controlled environments. While deploying the same technology in the open ocean presents significant challenges, the team is optimistic that with further engineering advancements, the system could work at larger scales.
This discovery holds vast security implications. The ability to intercept underwater communications, once considered technically infeasible, opens up new concerns about privacy and confidentiality. Sensitive information transmitted by oil and gas rigs, climate monitoring sensors, and even military submarines could be at risk. The researchers emphasize that their goal is not just to highlight the vulnerability of underwater communications but also to offer countermeasures that can protect these transmissions.
Yasaman Ghasempour, the study’s principal investigator, hopes that the proposed countermeasures will be adopted by those designing underwater communication systems. According to TechXplore, her team’s work comes after MIT’s 2018 success in creating a communication bridge between underwater and airborne devices, which required cooperation between the air and sea parties. However, the new research shows it’s possible to intercept messages from non-cooperative underwater transmitters without prior coordination.
The technology developed by the Princeton and MIT researchers leverages radar to detect and decode the small surface vibrations caused by underwater acoustic signals, also known as sonar. When an underwater transmitter emits sound waves, they travel through the water, creating pressure waves that disturb the surface. These tiny vibrations on the water’s surface are too small to be detected by the human eye but can be picked up by radar. By analyzing these vibrations, the researchers can effectively reconstruct the acoustic signals being transmitted underwater. This process allows them to intercept and decode the underwater communication without needing to be directly in the water or in close proximity to the transmitting device.
By demonstrating this new eavesdropping technique, the researchers are raising awareness of the hidden risks of underwater communication. The team’s work highlights the importance of securing these channels to prevent the leakage of sensitive information.
