Modeling of Leaked Digital Video Signal and Information Recovery Rate as a Function of SNR

Abstract

Substantial information leakage at PC monitors and TV systems arises in the form of unintentional emissions of high-speed digital video signals, such as DVI/HDMI. The information recovery rate from the emanated video signal varies depending on the SNR of the receiver system, which is placed a certain distance away. In this study, a situation in which the signal from a digital video system is intercepted is modeled using full-wave electromagnetic and circuit simulations. For a quantitative evaluation of the eavesdropping threat of display systems and the effect of its countermeasure, the readability of characters on a hypothetical screen as a function of the BER of the recovery signals is presented. It is clear that a decrease of the SNR of the received signal causes a deterioration of the digital video signal-recovery rate and consequently degrades the legibility of the characters on the intercepted screen. It is expected that these techniques can be useful for measurements and analyses of the effects of countermeasures, such as noise jamming or signal modulation, to prevent interceptions of digital video information.