Acoustic Cybersecurity: Exploiting Voice-Activated Systems
This addresses a critical cybersecurity threat for users of smart devices and critical infrastructure, with incremental extensions to existing attack feasibility.
The study tackled the problem of inaudible acoustic attacks on voice-activated systems, revealing vulnerabilities across platforms like Alexa and iOS with attack success rates around 60% and remote activation from over 100 feet away.
In this study, we investigate the emerging threat of inaudible acoustic attacks targeting digital voice assistants, a critical concern given their projected prevalence to exceed the global population by 2024. Our research extends the feasibility of these attacks across various platforms like Amazon's Alexa, Android, iOS, and Cortana, revealing significant vulnerabilities in smart devices. The twelve attack vectors identified include successful manipulation of smart home devices and automotive systems, potential breaches in military communication, and challenges in critical infrastructure security. We quantitatively show that attack success rates hover around 60%, with the ability to activate devices remotely from over 100 feet away. Additionally, these attacks threaten critical infrastructure, emphasizing the need for multifaceted defensive strategies combining acoustic shielding, advanced signal processing, machine learning, and robust user authentication to mitigate these risks.