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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday October 23 2019, @11:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the I-heard-what-you-did-last-night dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

No 'Silver Bullet' Fix for Alexa, Google Smart Speaker Hacks

Karsten Nohl, who was behind this week’s research that outlined new eavesdropping hacks for Alexa and Google Home, says that privacy for smart home assistants still has a ways to go.

Researchers this week disclosed new ways that attackers can exploit Alexa and Google Home smart speakers to spy on users. The hacks, which rely on the abuse of “skills,” or apps for voice assistants, allow bad actors to eavesdrop on users and trick them into telling them their passwords over the smart assistant devices.

Unfortunately, when it comes to smart speakers, “there’s no silver bullet” for protecting the privacy and security of data, said Karsten Nohl, managing director at Security Research Labs. Nohl, a cryptography expert and hacker, has been behind several high-profile research projects, including the 2014 BadUSB hack.

“I think it’s important to flag this technology as a convenience-enhancing technology,” Nohl told Threatpost. “So if you wanted to read the Daily News or weather or even horoscope, I think that’s fine, but be aware that this is a technology that should not be trusted with credit card numbers, medical information, or any other information that goes beyond convenience and actually intrudes your privacy. That of course, also applies to the placement of these devices, they probably shouldn’t be sitting in boardrooms or hospitals, on trading floors of large companies. They are a convenience enhancing technology that is probably better placed in more leisure environments right.”

Listen to Threatpost’s full interview with Nohl, below, or download direct here.


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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:43AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:43AM (#911061)

    I'll tell you what the silver bullet is: educate people

    Have you met people?

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  • (Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:50AM (4 children)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:50AM (#911065)

    Yes: a massive number of them are ignoramuses and fools. That's what education purports to solve.

    The catch is, education takes 20 years to have an effect, people's patience rarely stretches that far, and politicians aren't willing to invest in anything that doesn't show improvements beyond the next election.
    Still, education is the solution.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:58AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 24 2019, @12:58AM (#911068)

      All of the people I know who shout, "Alexa, tell me a joke! Hahaha! Alexa, you suck! Alexa, shut up bitch!" are over 20 years old and have earned postsecondary degrees.

      Your claims do not agree with reality.

      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday October 24 2019, @05:02AM

        by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Thursday October 24 2019, @05:02AM (#911118)

        The schooling system today focuses on training people to get a job. It doesn't provide an education. That's what needs fixing, is my point.

        Mark Twain famously said “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” So it's not a new problem either.

    • (Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday October 24 2019, @05:12AM

      by anubi (2828) on Thursday October 24 2019, @05:12AM (#911120) Journal

      Tell me about ignoramuses.

      Just a couple of stories below this one chronicled a man getting reported by a red light camera, on a tiny infraction.

      Now, we willingly welcome these information gathering and reporting devices into our homes???

      We are beyond dumb. No wonder we keep getting screwed all the time. Instead we even buy the crap.

      I betcha these modern cars with their satellite links could quite easily be made to report if they did not make a complete stop at each stop sign, as well as report things like cellphone use in the car.

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
    • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Thursday October 24 2019, @07:04AM

      by stretch611 (6199) on Thursday October 24 2019, @07:04AM (#911136)

      That's what education purports to solve.
      ...politicians aren't willing to invest in anything that doesn't show improvements beyond the next election.

      The real problem is that the majority of politicians would not be elected if the people where educated. And politicians are not going to support something that kicks them out of office.

      Some may say that they may not be in office anyway in 20 years... But look at all the geriatric congress critters we have. Not to mention how most of them start in smaller more local positions and work their way up through the years to get to their current position.

      --
      Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P