Rather conventional laser pointers have become a new tool for hacking phones, tablets and other smart home devices using voice control technology.
From a distance measuring tens or even hundreds of meters, lasers are capable of commanding devices to open doors, make purchases on the Internet, and perform other actions that are somehow beneficial to attackers.
Scientists from the Universities of Tokyo and Michigan have jointly shown that almost all of the devices on the market today that use voice technologies Google Assistant, Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa are vulnerable. These devices can be tricked into focusing the light from the laser pointer on an area immediately adjacent to the microphone location in that device.
Using a laser pointer, the researchers were able to force the following devices to execute commands - Google Home / Nest, Echo Plus / Show / Dot, Facebook Portal Mini, Fire Cube TV, EchoBee 4, iPhone XR, iPad 6th Gen, Samsung Galaxy S9 and Google Pixel 2. Moreover, they immediately notified Tesla, Ford, Amazon, Apple and Google about this vulnerability, suggesting the use of a special protective anti-laser film to solve this problem. However, the film coating does not provide one hundred percent protection, but it reduces the effective distance of possible burglary to 3-20 meters, which can significantly complicate the life of potential intruders.
In their work, which was the result of seven months of research and experimentation, the scientists showed that laser pointers, the beam of which is focused on a target using a telephoto lens, can effectively hack devices from a distance of 60 to 100 meters. As a demonstration of the method of "laser hacking" was the hacking of the Google Home system, to which, with the help of appropriate modulation of laser light, the voice command "OK Google, open the garage door" was transmitted. The burglars, along with the necessary equipment, were on the roof of the neighboring building, and the presence of slightly tinted glass in the windows of the room could not interfere with their "dirty business".
Likewise, you can force smart devices to shop online, open doors that are locked with smart locks, unlock car doors, and more.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the laser is not the first and perhaps not the last tool for hacking digital voice-controlled devices. Recently, researchers from a Chinese university demonstrated that such devices can be controlled by sending commands to them using ultrasonic waves that are inaudible to human hearing. And researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have found another way to hack smart devices by sending them covert voice commands, completely hidden from human perception, amid recordings of music or speech.
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