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Researchers Bypassed Windows Password Locks With Cortana Voice Commands (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the security-woes dept.

Two independent Israeli researchers found a way for an attacker to bypass the lock protection on Windows machines and install malware by using voice commands directed at Cortana, the multi-language, voice-commanded virtual assistant that comes embedded in Windows 10 desktop and mobile operating systems. From a report: Tal Be'ery and Amichai Shulman found that the always-listening Cortana agent responds to some voice commands even when computers are asleep and locked, allowing someone with physical access to plug a USB with a network adapter into the computer, then verbally instruct Cortana to launch the computer's browser and go to a web address that does not use https -- that is, a web address that does not encrypt traffic between a user's machine and the website. The attacker's malicious network adapter then intercepts the web session to send the computer to a malicious site instead, where malware downloads to the machine, all while the computer owner believes his or her machine is protected.

3 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. History repeats by lucasnate1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In the past, you could hack into old windows machines by pressing F1 at password prompt. If the help file was missing, it would ask you to browse and find it, which would allow you to right click on executables and run them. Nice to see that some things never change.

    --
    Avantgarde Hebrew science fiction
    1. Re:History repeats by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You didn't even need a missing help file. If you could open the help bubble you could right click and click print. Then from the print dialogue you could open a proper windows help screen. From there if you opened the index search and opened a different help topic you'd get a full windows help screen with menubar. Then just click file, open, navigate to the windows folder, right click on explorer.exe and run it.

  2. What does the network adapter have to do with it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't get it. The attack as described involves plugging in a compromised network adapter so that you can tell Cortana to go to an insecure website, and instead direct the machine to a different site that serves malware. Why not skip the network adapter, and just tell Cortana to go straight to a malware site instead?