Security associated with voice-assisted smart devices Voice assisted smart devices like the Amazon Echo are designed so that they connect the users to utilities via an uncomplicated to utilize voice interface

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                         Security associated with voice-assisted smart devices

Voice assisted smart devices like the Amazon Echo are designed so that they connect the users to utilities via an uncomplicated to utilize voice interface. As much as these devices have made tasks more manageable, they are making the cyber attackers' jobs more accessible as well. Voice interfaces are an excellent idea; however, it is not relevant to all actions and even devices. The paper will delve further into how these smart devices can be manipulated to breach security.

Harboring commands in the audio

Among the attackers in opposition to machine learning and artificial intelligence systems is a class that attempts to alter input. An example is an audio clip for the systems that use voice so that the machine makes it out as something completely contrasting (Pradhan, 2018).  Additionally, machines can hear sounds that humans cannot. Shielding commands inside other audio is not the only way to generate a covert way to utilize smart voice assistants. Six researchers from Zhejiang University in an attack that was presented in 217 showed that they could use sound that was not audible to humans to make a command to Siri to perform actions (Glasper, 2019). The hack indicates that an absence of security can be manipulated to command a voice assistant to visit a malevolent site, spy on the user, put in counterfeit information, or perform a contradiction of service attack.

Always on

Even when a voice assistant does not necessarily perform activities on the users' behalf, it continuously listens for directives. Similar to mobile phones, these voice assistants are also sensors with a lot of information on the user. Therefore, the companies that have manufactures these devices are ideal targets for attackers since they have access to one’s home and life. These devices act like bugs that are placed in your house by design. The reason being for them to run, these devices are designed to pay attention all the time; thus, once one says the keyword, they begin to collect data and send it to the cloud (Glasper, 2019). Apart from malevolent attacks, these devices have been proven to uncover one's privacy. Furthermore, trumping the system safety is also another weakness. Many parts of the codebase in numerous devices that serve general purposes such as the PC or phone are likely to be exploited by hackers. The likelihood of attacks is made more extensive and more practical when a smart voice assistant is added (Pradhan, 2018). These devices only put convenience as a priority over security. Sequentially, most attackers often devise ways to penetrate a house via a router or any other wireless network that is not secure. Therefore, smart voice assistants add another vector that makes it easier for them to bridge attacks and issue commands to the device.

 Conclusively, for most of the issues listed above, the solutions to them are not accessible. While there are filters that can be put in place to reduce the use of inputs outside the hearing of humans, most of the fixes regarding security for most of the problems would make the device almost impossible to use. Therefore, these voice-assisted smart devices are tremendous but pose a lot of security problems that are hard to fix.

 

 

 

 

References

Glasper, A. (2019). The use of voice-assisted technology to enhance self-care. British Journal of Nursing, 28(16), 1092-1093.

Pradhan, A. (2018). Exploring the Accessibility of Home-Based, Voice-controlled Intelligent Personal Assistants (Doctoral dissertation).