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Alexa, Siri and Others Have Excellent Hearing

September 7, 2017

Technology is intended to assist us live better lives. However, what you can't hear can hurt you. Typically, humans can hear at frequencies up to 20 KHz. The issue is that the microphones on digital assistant devices such as Google Home, Alexa, Siri, Samsung S Voice and others can "hear" up to 42KHz. Leave it to some researchers to find a way to exploit the issue. Researchers from China's Zheijiang University recorded voice commands and then transmitted them in ultrasonic frequencies. The technique is called DolphinAttack. They used $3 worth of parts and played back the commands from a smartphone with an amplifier, ultrasonic transducer and battery.

Essentially, the commands are played back at a frequency that humans can't hear but the microphones can. With the technique, you could issue nefarious commands to launch a malicious website, make phone calls or your door if it is equipped with a smart lock. The good news is that you have to be in close proximity (several feet) to the device in order for the hack to work.

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