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SmartAttack is a real academic attack technique, but it is not a case of any nearby smartwatch instantly stealing data from an isolated computer. The research describes a covert channel in which malware already running on an air-gapped computer sends selected data through the computer’s speaker using signals in the 18–22 kHz range. Malware on a nearby smartwatch then uses the watch’s microphone to receive and decode the transmission before forwarding it over an available connection.
The technique was proposed by Mordechai Guri of Ben-Gurion University in a paper submitted to arXiv on June 10, 2025. It was accepted for IEEE COMPSAC 2025, held July 8–11, 2025, and published in the conference proceedings, pages 932–942. Read the research paper and view the institutional publication record.
The short version
SmartAttack expands the threat model for air-gapped systems by treating a smartwatch as a discreet acoustic receiver. In the reported experiment, a compromised computer transmitted data through its speakers to a compromised Wear OS smartwatch more than 6 meters away, at a maximum reported rate of up to 50 bits per second.
Those figures describe experimental feasibility, not a guaranteed operating range or speed for every watch, computer, room, or software configuration. Most importantly, the attack assumes that both devices have already been compromised. SmartAttack is a post-compromise covert channel, not an initial-access technique, a smartwatch zero-day, or a method that remotely breaks an air gap by itself.
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What is an air-gapped system?
An air-gapped computer or network is deliberately isolated from external networks to reduce the risk of unauthorized remote access and conventional data exfiltration. This can be an important defense for military, industrial, research, financial, and critical-infrastructure systems.
However, an air gap is not the same as complete physical isolation. Malware can still arrive through removable media, maintenance equipment, supply-chain compromise, or an insider. Once malware is present, data may potentially leave through physical emissions such as sound, light, heat, electromagnetic radiation, or vibration. SmartAttack belongs to this broader category of out-of-band covert channels.
Network isolation blocks ordinary network traffic. It does not automatically eliminate speakers, microphones, cameras, wearable devices, or every other path by which information can cross a room.
How the SmartAttack chain works
The attack can be understood as a seven-stage chain:
- Compromise the isolated computer. Malware must already be executing on the air-gapped machine.
- Collect selected information. Potential targets include keystrokes, credentials, encryption keys, biometric information, configuration values, and other confidential data.
- Encode the data. The malware converts the chosen data into an acoustic signal.
- Transmit through the speaker. The computer’s speaker emits signals in an ultrasonic or near-ultrasonic frequency range.
- Receive with the smartwatch microphone. Malware on the watch records the signal while the watch is near the computer.
- Decode the transmission. Watch-side software processes the audio and reconstructs the encoded information.
- Forward the data. The smartwatch can potentially use Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular connectivity, or later synchronization to move the data outside the secure area.
The watch is therefore not stealing information simply by being present. It is acting as the receiver in a communication channel created by malware on both endpoints.
What “ultrasonic” means in this research
The reported operating range is approximately 18–22 kHz. “Ultrasonic” is a convenient shorthand, but the terminology needs care: the conventional threshold for ultrasound is generally above 20 kHz. The lower portion of the tested range is more accurately described as near-ultrasonic or above-normal-hearing-range audio.
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Human hearing varies by age and individual, and hardware differs in its frequency response. Some people may perceive tones near the upper edge of hearing, while a particular speaker or microphone may not reproduce or detect the full range effectively. “Inaudible” should not be treated as an absolute property of every listener or device.
What performance did the research report?
| Measure | Reported result | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | 18–22 kHz | Near-ultrasonic and ultrasonic signals, depending on the portion of the band |
| Distance | More than 6 meters | An experimental result under tested conditions, not a reliable six-meter radius |
| Maximum rate | Up to 50 bits per second | More suitable for compact secrets than large files |
At 50 bits per second, transferring 1 kilobyte would take roughly 164 seconds, before protocol overhead and real-world signal degradation. That calculation is an inference from the reported maximum rate, not a separate experimental result.
The channel is therefore a poor choice for rapidly copying documents or large databases. It could still matter for passwords, cryptographic keys, keystrokes, short credentials, and small fragments of sensitive information—the kinds of data that may be valuable even when they are only a few hundred bytes long.
Why use a smartwatch?
A smartwatch has several properties that can make it a useful receiver:
- It is normally worn continuously and may be allowed into rooms where phones are restricted.
- It can remain close to nearby computers without appearing unusual.
- Its small size makes it less conspicuous than a laptop or phone.
- Its microphone may capture frequencies beyond ordinary human hearing.
- It can potentially store received data or forward it through a wireless connection.
That does not make a smartwatch universally superior to a phone or another recording device. Its small form factor can mean less processing capability, microphone directionality, wrist movement, and signal blockage or attenuation from the wearer’s body. A watch facing away from the speaker, covered by clothing, or moving constantly may perform much worse than one positioned favorably in a controlled test.
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The strongest conclusion is that a smartwatch is a discreet receiver with favorable proximity, not a universally capable surveillance platform.
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The crucial caveat: both devices must already be compromised
This is not a “nearby smartwatch steals data” attack
A successful SmartAttack-style scenario generally requires all of the following:
- Malware execution on the air-gapped computer.
- Malware execution on the smartwatch.
- A functioning computer speaker capable of producing the signal.
- A watch microphone with suitable frequency response.
- Sufficient proximity and a favorable orientation.
- Enough time to transmit the selected information.
- A way for the watch to move the data out of the secure area, immediately or later.
This prerequisite changes the risk assessment substantially. SmartAttack does not infect an isolated computer, infect a watch, bypass physical access controls, or make a disconnected system reachable over the internet. It offers a possible exfiltration path after an attacker has already overcome the more difficult defenses protecting both devices.
The publicly available research also does not establish a known criminal campaign, a confirmed victim organization, a vulnerability identifier, or a universal exploit against Apple Watch, Wear OS, Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch, or other commercial platforms. The reported testing involved a Wear OS smartwatch; that result should not be generalized to every watch model or firmware version.
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Environmental factors can make or break the channel
The reported results depend on conditions that are easy to overlook in headline coverage:
- Distance: More than 6 meters was reported in testing, but reception may become unreliable well before that distance in another room or layout.
- Orientation: Built-in microphones can be directional. The watch’s position relative to the computer matters.
- Wrist movement: Movement can change the acoustic geometry and disrupt reception.
- Body occlusion: The wearer’s body, clothing, furniture, or equipment can block or attenuate the signal.
- Environmental noise: Machinery, alarms, ventilation, displays, and other high-frequency emissions can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio.
- Hardware differences: Speaker and microphone frequency responses vary by computer, watch, model, and configuration.
- Outbound connectivity: Receiving the data is not the same as exfiltrating it. The watch still needs a permitted route out or must retain the data until one becomes available.
A Faraday cage or radio-shielded room may restrict wireless communication without stopping an acoustic channel. Conversely, if the watch has no network path while inside the secure area, it might only be able to store the captured data for later forwarding.
Who should care most?
SmartAttack is most relevant to organizations where the value of compact secrets justifies a sophisticated, multi-stage attack, particularly:
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- Defense and intelligence facilities
- Industrial-control and critical-infrastructure environments
- Research laboratories
- Systems protecting cryptographic keys or proprietary algorithms
- Financial institutions handling high-value credentials
- Secure rooms where employees, contractors, or visitors routinely carry personal electronics
For an ordinary home or office user, the scenario is far less likely than conventional malware, phishing, or account compromise. The research matters because high-security environments often assume that network isolation is sufficient while allowing unmanaged personal devices into the same physical space.
Practical defenses
1. Control devices entering sensitive areas
Define clear rules for smartwatches, phones, earbuds, fitness trackers, hearing devices, and other audio-capable wearables. Use lockers, screened storage, or an approved-device program where appropriate. Contractor and visitor devices should be covered by the same policy.
A blanket ban is simple and directly addresses the receiver, but it may create accessibility, health, safety, and operational issues. Those exceptions should be explicit rather than allowing every personal wearable by default.
2. Remove or disable unnecessary audio hardware
If a system does not need sound input or output, physically disconnect or remove its speakers and microphones where feasible. Hardware-disable switches or documented physical disconnections are stronger than relying only on software settings.
This can affect alerts, diagnostics, video-conferencing workflows, and maintenance procedures, so the control should be evaluated against the system’s operational requirements.
3. Harden the isolated endpoint
Application allowlisting, minimal software installation, offline malware scanning, integrity monitoring, and strict removable-media controls address the malware prerequisite on the computer. Monitor unusual access to speaker APIs or sustained high-frequency audio generation where endpoint telemetry permits it.
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Endpoint controls cannot guarantee detection of a sophisticated implant, but they are more fundamental than relying on an acoustic defense after compromise.
4. Manage necessary wearables
Where a wearable is operationally necessary, use an approved-device list and centralized management where supported. Disable unnecessary wireless radios and microphone functionality when possible, and document what the device is allowed to do inside the secure zone.
Mobile-device management or unified endpoint management can help enforce policy on managed devices, but such tools are not a complete defense against an already-compromised watch.
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Acoustic sensors or ultrasonic monitoring may help detect suspicious emissions, particularly in high-risk rooms. They require careful sensor placement, signal classification, and investigation procedures because ordinary equipment can also produce high-frequency sounds.
Monitoring is weaker than eliminating unnecessary audio hardware, and it should not be treated as proof that no covert channel exists.
6. Use jamming cautiously
Acoustic jamming may disrupt covert reception, but it can interfere with legitimate equipment and create safety, regulatory, or operational complications. It is a specialized control, not a complete solution and not a substitute for device restrictions or endpoint hardening.
7. Review other physical channels
SmartAttack is a reminder to test the broader physical security model. Ask whether the same environment permits optical, electromagnetic, thermal, vibration, removable-media, or human-carried channels. Network isolation alone is not a complete defense if trusted devices can carry information across the boundary.
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The work demonstrates the feasibility of using a smartwatch microphone as part of an acoustic exfiltration channel under an assumed compromise model. It does not prove that attackers are conducting a widespread campaign using SmartAttack, that all consumer smartwatches can receive the signal, or that the maximum reported rate is reliable in ordinary conditions.
It also does not show that large files can be conveniently stolen, that a watch alone can cross an air gap, or that a particular Apple Watch or other named product is vulnerable. The relevant details depend on the exact hardware, software, room, device policy, and attacker access.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Mordechai Guri, “SmartAttack: Ultrasonic Air-Gap Attack via Smartwatches,” arXiv
- Ben-Gurion University publication record
- IEEE COMPSAC 2025 paper DOI
- SecurityWeek technical report
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