Researchers use laser to hack smart speakers

A group of scientists say they were able to command smart speakers and other gadgets to start recording using a laser.

The work was done by researchers at the University of Michigan and at Japan's University of Electro-Communications.

They say they could command virtual helpers like Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant silently and from hundreds of feet away, as long as they had a line of sight to the smart gadget.

Usually, you have to talk to voice assistants to get them to do what you want.

But the researchers say they were able to make the devices do anything from opening a smart garage door to buying stuff on Amazon, using just a few hundred dollars' worth of electronics.

Spokespeople for Google and Amazon said their companies are reviewing the research.

Apple declined to comment.