The paper applies reinforcement learning to novel Internet of Thing configurations. Our analysis of inaudible attacks on voice-activated devices confirms the alarming risk factor of 7.6 out of 10, underlining significant security vulnerabilities scored independently by NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD). Our baseline network model showcases a scenario in which an attacker uses inaudible voice commands to gain unauthorized access to confidential information on a secured laptop. We simulated many attack scenarios on this baseline network model, revealing the potential for mass exploitation of interconnected devices to discover and own privileged information through physical access without adding new hardware or amplifying device skills. Using Microsoft's CyberBattleSim framework, we evaluated six reinforcement learning algorithms and found that Deep-Q learning with exploitation proved optimal, leading to rapid ownership of all nodes in fewer steps. Our findings underscore the critical need for understanding non-conventional networks and new cybersecurity measures in an ever-expanding digital landscape, particularly those characterized by mobile devices, voice activation, and non-linear microphones susceptible to malicious actors operating stealth attacks in the near-ultrasound or inaudible ranges. By 2024, this new attack surface might encompass more digital voice assistants than people on the planet yet offer fewer remedies than conventional patching or firmware fixes since the inaudible attacks arise inherently from the microphone design and digital signal processing. Voice-activated devices, such as digital voice assistants, have experienced rapid proliferation in recent years.

This study investigates a primary inaudible attack vector on Amazon Alexa voice services using near ultrasound trojans and focuses on characterizing the attack surface and examining the practical implications of issuing inaudible voice commands. The research maps each attack vector to a tactic or technique from the MITRE ATT&CK matrix, covering enterprise, mobile, and Industrial Control System (ICS) frameworks. The experiment involved generating and surveying fifty near-ultrasonic audios to assess the attacks' effectiveness, with unprocessed commands having a 100% success rate and processed ones achieving a 58% overall success rate. This systematic approach stimulates previously unaddressed attack surfaces, ensuring comprehensive detection and attack design while pairing each ATT&CK Identifier with a tested defensive method, providing attack and defense tactics for prompt-response options. The main findings reveal that the attack method employs Single Upper Sideband Amplitude Modulation (SUSBAM) to generate near-ultrasonic audio from audible sources, transforming spoken commands into a frequency range beyond human-adult hearing. By eliminating the lower sideband, the design achieves a 6 kHz minimum from 16-22 kHz while remaining inaudible after transformation. The research investigates the one-to-many attack surface where a single device simultaneously triggers multiple actions or devices. Additionally, the study demonstrates the reversibility or demodulation of the inaudible signal, suggesting potential alerting methods and the possibility of embedding secret messages like audio steganography.

There are only a few other marketing innovations that shocked business owners, marketers and developers over the last decade like artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) has made leaps and bounds since the 1950s when it was first theorized and created. Now, in 2021, AI has the potential to help everyone involved in the marketing process perform their jobs exponentially better than they could ten years ago. You may be wondering, "How exactly does AI improve the way we reach and engage with the people who visit our website?" Today, we will look at several ways to use AI to get more value from your marketing campaign.

A student has designed a handheld'robotic guide dog' to help support people with visual impairments who are unable to house a real assistance animal. Loughborough University design engineer Anthony Camu was inspired to develop the device by responsive virtual reality gaming controllers. Dubbed'Theia' -- after the Titan goddess of light in Greek mythology -- the prototype can replicate the key functions of a real guide dog. The voice-activated device can program quick and safe routes to given destinations using real-time online data -- much like a car's satnav -- and onboard sensors. Force feedback delivered through Theia's handle then helps direct the user -- creating a sensation the designers say is similar to the pull of a guide dog's leash.

Suddenly, the garage door opens, a burglar slides in, uses another laser to have the Echo start the car and drives off. Researchers from the University of Michigan have used laser lights to exploit a wide variety of voice-activated devices, giving them access to everything from thermostats to garage door openers to front door locks. The researchers have communicated their findings to Amazon, Google and Apple, which are studying the research. Working with researchers from the University of Electro-Communications in Japan, U-M's researchers published a paper and a web site detailing how it works. There are also videos showing it in action.

A massive sea change has happened in the world of retail – albeit so subtly and swiftly that most consumers probably never even felt it happen. Shopping went from being a discreet, defined, daily (or weekly or monthly) activity to something that has become like the background noise of modern interaction. As recently as the turn of the century, "going shopping" meant exactly that for over 90 percent of consumers: getting in a car and physically going someplace to make purchases. Flash forward to the closing months of the second decade of the 21st century, and shopping is not so much a thing that consumers go do, so much as something that is happening in the background of everything else customers are already doing. According to the 2019 edition of the PYMNTS How We Will Pay Study, the average consumer does about 12 activities over the course of a day, and makes a purchase during about four of them.

Spotify has launched a new voice-controlled smart device, marking a debut in the hardware industry. Dubbed'Car Thing,' it plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter and allows users to turn on their favorite playlist hands-free while they're driving. The device is being rolled out among a small group of test users in the coming weeks, according to the Verge. Spotify has launched a new voice-controlled smart device, marking a debut in the hardware industry. It allows users to turn on their favorite playlist hands-free while they're driving Users plug it into their car's 12-volt outlet, or cigarette lighter.

It's for sure not the sexiest topic, but product information management software, or PIM, is becoming more top of mind with B2B companies. These businesses sell across an increasing number of channels from ecommerce sites and print catalogs to social media and voice-activated devices. "I cover ecommerce platforms and PIM technology, and I get three times as many calls on PIM," says Bruce Eppinger, senior analyst for digital business strategy at Forrester Research Inc. Because as more manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers dive into digital commerce, they're learning that it's becoming more important than ever to maintain accurate product information displayed throughout a growing number of channels including internet search results, Google Maps, social media, mobile apps, print catalogs, third-party online marketplaces, as well as their own ecommerce sites. The growing need to optimize content for multiple channels, Eppinger says, "is why the PIM market is growing gangbusters."

The rise of voice assistants has put a new customer-facing channel on the map for marketers. The promise is clear: voice-enabled devices operate as a fine blend of digital and physical realities, which makes room for truly contextual interactions with users. But with voice technology so young, it's still unclear if it can add up meaningfully to the marketing toolkit. In 2016, Gartner predicted 75 percent penetration of voice-activated devices in US households by 2020. We're now two years short of this deadline and the penetration rate is a humble 13 percent (though expected to rise to 55 percent by 2022).

Google is launching a major redesign of its Assistant app. The search giant's digital assistant was initially launched as a way for users to give commands using just their voice. But as digital assistants, including Google's own, begin to appear on a broader range of devices, it's meant that users are increasingly interacting with them using touch. In fact, more than half of interactions occur using touch, according to the firm. Google took notice and now it's making some helpful updates to the Assistant app as a result.