WHAT’S THE RUMOUR
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Need to Know
WELIKE...
RevampedEdgebrowser
getsnewlogo
Microsofthasunveiledthenew
logoforitsupcoming
Chromium-based
Edgebrowser,which
is deliberately
designedtolook
differentfrom
InternetExplorer.
Theiconwas
revealedin an‘Easteregg’
huntin theEdgeInsiderchannel.Photoshopnowavailable
foriPad
AdobePhotoshop
hasfinallyarrivedon
theiPad,a yearafter
it wasannounced.
Theprofessional
image-editing
softwareis freeto
usefor 30 days,
afterwhichyou’llneeda
CreativeCloudsubscriptionto
continueusingtheapp.WEDON’TLIKE...
Warningovermalicious
Androidapp
Androidusershave
beenurgedto
uninstallanemoji
keyboardappcalled
Ai.type,which
deliversinvisible
adsandsecretly
signsvictimsupfor
premiumdigitalservices.The
apphasbeendownloadedmore
than 40 milliontimes.Customers left cashless
by online banks
Online banking serviceshave
been criticised by
MPs for an
“unacceptable”
level of crashes and
disruption to
customers, who are
being left “cashless
and cut off”. The
banks now face moreregulation
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Hackersmaystillbeabletoeavesdrop
onyourconversationsviasmart
speakers,rumourssuggest.
Eavesdroppingvectorsandphishing
scams,whichgetuserstohandover
privatedata,werefirstdiscoveredin
bothAmazonEchoandGoogleHome
devicesin 2018.
You’dassumethatbynowthe
companieswouldhavefiguredouthow
topreventthisfromhappening.Yettwo
researchersfromhackingconsultancy
SecurityResearchLabsassertthat
criminalsarecontinuingtogainaccess
touserdataandconversations.
It seemsthatthird-partyappscould
betoblame.GoogleandAmazonboth
offerback-endstodeveloperstocreate
Home-andAlexa-basedapps.When
cybercriminalsaddthe symbol to the
back-end, it forces the smart speaker to
remain silent but active, as hackers listen
in. Users are then asked for data, such as
passwords, under the guise of checking
your Google or Amazon credentials.
It’s thought the issue lies with Amazon
and Google’s app-vetting services.
While apps are checked for net nasties
in the first instance, it’s unclear whether
subsequent updates – which may
contain these malicious lines of code –
are also scanned.
Neither Google nor Amazon has
confirmed the rumour but they do state,
more generally, that countermeasures
are already in place and that no device
will ever request your password.
Are smart speakers still
spying on you?
What’s new on Kickstarter
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LIKELIHOODRATING
Google and Amazon’s non-
denials are suspicious and,
thanks to 2018’s litany of hacks,
we know the spying is possible.
It’s such a simple hack, too, so
we expect both companies to
feel embarrassed. As well they
should – this is our data, after all.
However, we don’t doubt they
both take corrective steps each
time a breach like this is found.
But, for now, when you see the
light on your smart speaker stay
on, be aware that someone may
be eavesdropping on you.