“Smart speakers from Amazon and Google offer simple access to information through voice commands. The capability of the speakers can be extended by third-party developers through small apps. These smart speaker voice apps are called Skills for Alexa and Actions on Google Home. The apps currently create privacy issues: They can be abused to listen in on users or vish (voice-phish) their passwords. As the functionality of smart speakers grows so too does the attack surface for hackers to exploit them. SRLabs research found two possible hacking scenarios that apply to both Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The flaws allow a hacker to phish for sensitive information and eavesdrop on users. We created voice applications to demonstrate both hacks on both device platforms, turning the assistants into ‘Smart Spies’.”
