Security researchers have reportedly discovered that hackers can use radio waves to hijack data on Android smartphones and iPhones through Google Now and Siri. Hackers accomplish this by sending radio waves to the devices and tricking users into sending them information by responding to voice commands.
“According to French security firm ANSSI, which made the discovery, the attackers can broadcast radio waves to mikes attached to iOS as well as Android devices. The radio waves are silent, but are so powerful that they can stimulate the specific button for activating Siri and Google Now. Using voice commands, the hackers can then proceed to wake-up Siri and Google Now and instruct the software to send personal messages, access downloaded and pre-installed apps on the device, and also open the mobile wallet,” MNR Daily Reported.
ANSSI has also claimed that “hackers can send electromagnetic waves, which can be picked up by the headphone cord from close range, using open-source radio software from a laptop attached to an antenna and amplifier. The required hardware is small enough to fit inside a backpack, while a bigger version can be used from inside a van parked close to small places where people are gathered, such as a bar or airport, to target devices about 16 feet (five meters) away.”
“The sky is the limit here. Everything you can do through the voice interface you can do remotely and discreetly through electromagnetic waves,” Vincent Strubel, director of the research group at ANSSI, added.
