SPEAKE(a)R is a malware developed by researchers at the Ben Gurion University in Israel, and with its help speakers can be used as microphones for espionage. This may seem impossible to the majority of the world, but these researchers managed to create a software that simplifies the espionage procedures.
The malware, which must be installed in computers to work, turns a simple speaker into a microphone by modifying a chip in the motherboard. More precisely, the audio chips of those from Realtek can be modified in such a way that the headphones connected to them through the audio ports are transformed into speakers.
In a very complex document, the researchers explain the procedure used to turn a speaker into a microphone, but the video clip below shows everything very simply. To be honest, such an achievement seems impossible for the average person, but I'm sure that various spy agencies have been using techniques like this for some time.
Unfortunately, the user does not know when he is infected with such malware, so he does not know how to protect himself, and thus any hacker who is intelligent enough can monitor anyone.
"Speakers aim at amplifying audio streams out, but in fact, a speaker can be seen as a microphone working in reverse mode: loudspeakers convert electric signals into a sound waveform, while microphones transform sounds into electric signals. This bidirectional mechanism facilitates the use of simple headphones as a feasible microphone, simply by plugging them into the PC microphone jack. "
