"Laser pointers are ... quite effective at hacking Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant, researchers say — even from hundreds of feet away. Microphones in smart devices translate sound into electrical signals, which communicate commands to the device. But as researchers ... have discovered, microphones will respond the same way to a focused light pointed directly at them... Since many voice-command systems don’t require authentication, attackers wouldn’t need a password or PIN to take over a device with a light command; they just need to be in the object’s line of sight... ... In one case, they took over a Google Home on the fourth floor of an office building from the top of a bell tower at the University of Michigan, more than 200 feet away. And they say the trick could theoretically be deployed to buy things online undetected, operate smart switches in homes and other unsettling applications... The researchers ... notified Google, Amazon, Apple, Tesla and Ford about the vulnerability..." https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...-simple-laser-pointer-even-outside-your-home/
