Scientists Hack Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
Researchers at the University of Michigan and Japan’s University of Electro-Communication managed to hack into voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. Using lasers with direct line-of-sight, the researchers shone invisible light to send commands to smart devices from hundreds of feet away. In this way they could access all the functionality that users have enabled on their devices, from smart home controls to security protocols to financial transactions.
For example, a so-called “bad actor” willing to invest in a few hundred dollars worth of equipment could change a home’s temperature controls, open locks or place orders with Amazon. The device owners would be unaware of the breach unless they were home or had enabled notificaitons.
It is just one more reason why the platforms (and their manufacturing partners) need to invest resources in hardening these ubiquitous tools. For more information on how to protect yourself in the interim, please start with Bob Villa’s The Ten Biggest Security Threats in Today’s Smart Home
