Voice is the Next Interface, But What Does That Mean for Mobile Security?

#News(Security) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

Ten years ago, I would have said that voice was an interface of the past. Yet today, the voice revolution is well underway and it’s becoming clear that voice will, in fact, be the next major interface. Just look at the proliferation and capabilities of virtual assistants and voice-activated devices, whether it’s asking Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo to turn down the thermostat, having Google Home recite your schedule for the day, or instructing Apple’s Siri to read your emails out loud. While nearly one in five Americans has access to a smart speaker today, Gartner predicts that 75 percent of households in the U.S. will have smart speakers by 2020.

We’re already witnessing the benefits of these voice-activated devices, but this is only the beginning of this rapidly evolving market transition. As voice technology continues to infiltrate every aspect of our daily lives, countries, companies, and individuals must brace themselves for the rise of sophisticated surveillance tactics. Today, our most used devices can quickly turn from smartphone to spyware. Just look at the capabilities of NSO Group, whose technology appears to have enabled organizations to secretly record conversations from the phones of some of the most powerful government officials and prominent news reporters in the world.

Concerned? If not, just look at a few of the promises of AI-driven voice profiling. In the future, voice forensics fueled by AI could provide intel on a caller’s age, gender, ethnicity, height, weight, health status, emotional state, educational level and socioeconomic class. Even more alarming, this technology could give cybercriminals clues about the caller’s location, room size, clutter in the room and even the wall, ceiling and floor type.

As the shift to voice continues to quickly progress, security will be more important than ever especially for enterprises and government agencies that are dealing with highly confidential or sensitive information. Here’s why:

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