This Malware Uses Music To Hack Your Phone
Nothing is sacred. No one is safe.
If it hadn’t already done so, music has now official lost its innocence. That’s what happens when music is for the nefarious purposes of cybercrime. New research conducted by the Universities of Michigan and South Carolina has found that accelerometers—the motion-sensing chips used in smartphones, tablets and other digital devices, but also in automobiles and medical equipment—can all be hacked using sound.
Researchers tested 20 accelerometer chips from five different manufacturers, and found that they were able to hack 75% of the chips using a “malicious” music file. In one case, they were even able to control a toy car via a compromised accelerometer, leaving open the possibility that far more serious hacks could take place. “Computer hacker music” has just taken on a whole new meaning. Find out more about how the music virus works by watching the video below.
Read more: Bio-hack tattoos can control your technology
(Via Pitchfork)