Voice is the next big medium of interaction for many technology companies, as they seek to break down intrinsic barriers of using technology in developing countries, through products like AI assistants and smart speakers. Even as our daily lives get more interconnected, literacy is big barrier when it comes to growth of internet-enabled services. This is where voice comes in to level the playing field to some extent.
Last year, researchers at Princeton University and China’s Zhejian University had demonstrated another such exploit dubbed DolphinAttack. The exploit made use of ultrasonic sounds to attack voice recognition systems in popular digital assistants. The attacks could be used to instruct smart devices to visit malicious websites, make phone calls, take a picture or send text messages, however, it had its limitations. The attack could only be carried out if the ultrasonic transmitter was close to the receiving device, but experts had warned that more powerful systems were a possibility.
