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Alexa and Google Home Were Vulnerable to Hackers

Credit: PC Magazine

Your smart assistants may have been a little too smart for their own good.

According to CNN Business, a vulnerability was discovered in both Amazon Echo and Google Home devices that would allow hackers to take control. Once an intruder is in control of the devices, they could eavesdrop on nearby conversations, or force the devices to request sensitive information like passwords or payment info.

The vulnerability was discovered by Security Research Labs, a private firm that researches hacking techniques and defenses. In a series of videos posted by SR Labs, they demonstrated how the devices could be commandeered by an outside force. Third-party app developers could exploit the back-end access given to them by Amazon and Google and implant commands into their apps that would affect the smart assistants. In one example, an app was opened via a voice command, and nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen. A few minutes later, however, the assistant said that an update was required and that the user needed to speak their password, which is not something a smart assistant would ever request normally.

Thankfully, no incidents of this nature have been reported, so it looks like it was caught before anything bad happened. SR Labs has formally reported the exploit to Amazon and Google, who have both taken measures to stop it and prevent it from reappearing.

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