• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Apple addressed the seventh actively exploited zero-day

 | 

Hackers deploy DripDropper via Apache ActiveMQ flaw, patch systems to evade detection

 | 

A Scattered Spider member gets 10 years in prison

 | 

FBI: Russia-linked group Static Tundra exploit old Cisco flaw for espionage

 | 

US CERT/CC warns of flaws in Workhorse Software accounting software used by hundreds of municipalities in Wisconsin

 | 

DOJ takes action against 22-year-old running RapperBot Botnet

 | 

Google fixed Chrome flaw found by Big Sleep AI

 | 

Pharmaceutical firm Inotiv discloses ransomware attack. Qilin group claims responsibility for the hack

 | 

A hacker tied to Yemen Cyber Army gets 20 months in prison

 | 

Exploit weaponizes SAP NetWeaver bugs for full system compromise

 | 

Allianz Life security breach impacted 1.1 million customers

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Trend Micro Apex One flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

AI for Cybersecurity: Building Trust in Your Workflows

 | 

Taiwan Web Infrastructure targeted by APT UAT-7237 with custom toolset

 | 

New NFC-Driven Android Trojan PhantomCard targets Brazilian bank customers

 | 

Cisco fixed maximum-severity security flaw in Secure Firewall Management Center

 | 

'Blue Locker' Ransomware Targeting Oil & Gas Sector in Pakistan

 | 

Hackers exploit Microsoft flaw to breach Canada ’s House of Commons

 | 

Norway confirms dam intrusion by Pro-Russian hackers

 | 

Zoom patches critical Windows flaw allowing privilege escalation

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Internet of Things
  • Hacking the Amazon Alexa virtual assistant to spy on unaware users

Hacking the Amazon Alexa virtual assistant to spy on unaware users

Pierluigi Paganini April 26, 2018

Checkmarx experts created a proof-of-concept Amazon Echo Skill for Alexa that instructs the device to eavesdrop on users’ conversations and then sends the transcripts to a website controlled by the attackers.

The Alexa virtual assistant could be abused by attackers to spy on consumers with smart devices.

Researchers at security firm Checkmarx created a proof-of-concept Amazon Echo Skill for Alexa that instructs the device to indefinitely record surround voice to secretly eavesdrop on users’ conversations and then sends the transcripts to a website controlled by the attackers.

Amazon allows developers to build custom Skills that can control voice-activated smart devices such as Amazon Echo Show, Echo Dot, and Amazon Tap.

The rogue Echo Skill for Alexa is disguised as a simple math calculator, once installed it will be activated in the background after a user says “Alexa, open calculator.”

“The Echo is continuously listening for the user’s voice. So when the user says “Alexa, open calculator”, the calculator skill is initialized and the API\Lambda-function that’s associated with the skill receives a launch request as an input.” reads the report published by Checkmarx.

Alexa amazon hack

The experts at Checkmarx were able to build a feature that kept the Alexa session up so Alexa would continue listening and customers were not able to detect Alexa’s activity.

The experts manipulated the code used in a built-in JavaScript library (ShouldEndSession) that is used to halt the device from listening if it doesn’t receive voice commands.

“The combination of a session that is still open (shouldEndSession=false) and an un-noticeable (empty) reprompt with a record intent as described above is that even after the user ends the regular functionality of the skill (math calculation within the calculator), the skill will continue to record, will capture the spoken words and send them to a log.” continues the report.

“As long as it will recognize speech and will pick up words, the eavesdropping will continue. Even the default 8-second grace of Alexa prior to closing the skill (in case of silence) will be doubled to 16 seconds due to a silence re-prompt.”

Checkmarx published a video proof-of-concept to show that Alexa can spy on users once they have opened up a session with the calculator app. A second session is created without prompting the user that the microphone is still active.

Any recorded audio is transcribed and transcripts are then sent to the attackers. Checkmarx reported his findings to Amazon that addressed the problem on April 10.

In November 2017, researchers at security firm Armis reported that millions of AI-based voice-activated personal assistants, including Google Home and Amazon Echo, were affected by the Blueborne vulnerabilities.

Virtual assistants are powerful technologies by dramatically enlarge our surface of attack, for this reason, it is essential to develop them with a security-by-design approach.

[adrotate banner=”9″] [adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – IoT, virtual assistant)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Alexa Hacking IoT Pierluigi Paganini privacy Security Affaors surveillance

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini August 21, 2025
Apple addressed the seventh actively exploited zero-day
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini August 21, 2025
Hackers deploy DripDropper via Apache ActiveMQ flaw, patch systems to evade detection
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Apple addressed the seventh actively exploited zero-day

    Security / August 21, 2025

    Hackers deploy DripDropper via Apache ActiveMQ flaw, patch systems to evade detection

    Malware / August 21, 2025

    A Scattered Spider member gets 10 years in prison

    Cyber Crime / August 21, 2025

    FBI: Russia-linked group Static Tundra exploit old Cisco flaw for espionage

    Intelligence / August 21, 2025

    US CERT/CC warns of flaws in Workhorse Software accounting software used by hundreds of municipalities in Wisconsin

    Security / August 21, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT