Google Gemini Hacked: Smart Home Devices at Risk!
So, here's a heads-up: some clever researchers managed to trick Google's Gemini into messing with a smart home. I know, sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, right?
Basically, they used sneaky "prompt injections" in Google Calendar invites. Imagine getting a calendar invite that, when Gemini summarizes it for you, secretly tells your Google Home to open the windows or switch off the lights. Pretty wild! The team showed off these hacks this week at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, but they were cool enough to give Google a heads-up back in February.
A Google Workspace security director told Wired that prompt injection attacks are probably going to be a thing for a while, but they're hoping to make it so regular users don't have to stress about it too much. He also mentioned that these kinds of hacks are super rare in the real world.
However, with AI models getting more complex, you just know that some bad actors are trying to find new ways to mess with them. And honestly, it's not always easy to stop them.
The good news is that Google says they're taking these vulnerabilities seriously and are using what the researchers found to build better defenses against these types of attacks. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, it seems. I'm glad to know they are on top of it.
Source: Engadget