All Voice Activated Systems are vulnerable to this ingenious hack.

[dave w]

I'm already quite anti-Edison and didn't realize I'd been making such a big mistake in supporting his legacy for my whole life.  Accordingly, I started bringing back "Ahoy-Hoy" as a telephone greeting earlier this week. 

There is always the Tesla greeting to consider: "Sparky here".

[bkenobi]

That's a valid point.  Having our television remotes able to respond to our voice also means that we should really keep those away from windows as well.  I wonder if the research is still going on and, if so, could we suggest they look at things like our voice remotes?  I also wonder if the same is possible with phones since Apple and some Android models will respond to commands without touching them.

[HA Dave]

...... wonder if the same is possible with phones since Apple and some Android models will respond to commands without touching them.

Of course they would (at least theoretically... of course). Best way to find out is just dig through your bin of extra electronic parts and pieces. Then hack together your own "Laser-Based Audio Injection System".... and try for yourself.

[dhouston]

I also wonder if the same is possible with phones since Apple and some Android models will respond to commands without touching them.

The link I posted in the beginning of this thread is to an abstract of the study. There is a link to the full study at the beginning of that abstract. The abstract also lists the devices and voice systems tested (Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri, Portal). It includes iPhones/iPads and while they did not test Android devices, it stands to reason that any using voice control will be vulnerable.

Finally, the abstract includes their email address so you can ask your questions directly.

[bkenobi]

I did review a different story covering the same study. That one only included mention of the voice boxes but no mention of other devices.

If I had DARPA money as in the study, I'd have no problem peicing something together.  I suppose it all depends on who funds your toys.

[dhouston]

If I had DARPA money as in the study, I'd have no problem peicing something together.  I suppose it all depends on who funds your toys.

Again, from the abstract...

The Light Commands attack can be mounted using a simple laser pointer ($13.99, $16.99, and $17.99 on Amazon), a laser driver (Wavelength Electronics LD5CHA, $339), and a sound amplifier (Neoteck NTK059, $27.99 on Amazon). A telephoto lens (Opteka 650-1300mm, $199.95 on Amazon) can be used to focus the laser for long range attacks.

[bkenobi]

Nice. I figured we'd be out 10x that much, but for under $1000 I can prank neighbors? Sweet!

[dhouston]

Nice. I figured we'd be out 10x that much, but for under $1000 I can prank neighbors? Sweet!

Actually, it's under $600 even with the added cost of 2 AAA batteries for the laser pointer.

[bkenobi]

Thanks for catching that.  It won't work without batteries!

[dave w]

 

[bkenobi]

Turns out Destin is a conspiracy theorist as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozIKwGt38LQ