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5 of 1 700 AdvertisementThe effect is completely imperceptible to both the human eye and the limited frame rate of a high-resolution video camera. As an electromagnet increases and decreases its power to make a speaker cone move back and forth to create audible sound waves, the ever-changing power draw also slightly increases and decreases the amount of power reaching a speaker鈥檚 power status LED, causing it to dim and brighten. Even in a dark room your eyes won鈥檛 see it happening, but there鈥檚 enough of a change that an electro-optical sensor, which simply converts light into an electrical signal, can detect it.Pairing the sensor with a telescope allowed the security researchers at Ben-Gurion University to successfully capture and decipher sounds being played by a speaker at distances of up to 35 meters, or close to 115 feet. The results aren鈥檛 crystal clear (you can hear the remote recordings the researchers made on Ben Nassi鈥檚 website), and the noise increases the farther away from the speaker the capture device is used, but with some intelligent audio processing, the results can undoubtedly be improved.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe researchers tested the Glowworm Attack on speakers from several different manufacturers, including the Google Home Mini and Google Nest Audio smart speakers, as well as offerings from brands like Logitech, Sony, Creative, and JBL (who have all been informed of the attack.) It鈥檚 not limited to just speaker hardware, however. The researchers were also able to successfully capture audio by remotely analyzing the LEDs on USB hubs that desktop speakers were plugged into, as well as connected devices like the Raspberry Pi.Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to foil the Glowworm Attack, with the easiest being a strategically placed piece of opaque tape preventing the power status LED from being seen. On the manufacturer side, the solution might be a little harder, but as Hackaday suggests, introducing some randomized power noise to the LED while the speaker is operating should properly obfuscate what it鈥檚 revealing to eavesdroppers nearby.

5 of 1 700 Metaverse use cases have to be commercialized soonerWith the market getting tougher, technology companies are pulling backMetaverse should be about how to build a safer automobile and test it with less physical waste, cost, and timeDaniel Newman of Futurum Research discusses how we will be able to use the metaverse in the healthcare, automobile, and other industries on Squawk Box, CNBC.Metaverse is getting on a consumer levelMetaverse companies flocked to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2023, which shows the metaverse is getting on the consumer level. Use cases have to be commercialized sooner.With the market getting tougher, technology companies are pulling back, says Newman. Theyre looking to invest in RD, in technologies that people can commercialize and monetize.Meta was too ambitiousHe gave Meta as an example of a company that was too ambitious about what the future of the metaverse might look like. There was an excessive focus on consumer applications, wearing the big headsets, the virtual universehow much of the market is going to get into that right away?Building worlds in the futureAfter expressing this doubt, Daniel Newman talked about what Nvidia is doing using generative AI to actually build worlds in the future, where you can see what a building will look like in a space or design the inside of an office, or what Microsoft is doing with Teams to create a more collaborative meeting experience. He said:When we go back to real world meetings, we see that connections and relationships are different than what we did on Zoom, so maybe the metaverse can bring us there.A wasted opportunity?The host asked if this was becoming an entirely wasted opportunity. He asked Newman:I dont see applications for education, healthcare, for housing (that you touched upon). Dont these developers have to move beyond gaming?Newman responded:The real applications of this are going to be manufacturing, planning, engineering. Its going to be in health care, in exploring car tech and creating safer settings in public. Its not about the big headsets and wearables; thats only part of it. Its about how to build a safer automobile and test it with less physical waste, cost, and time. The metaverse should be talking more about how to 3D print a valve, transplant it in a patients heart, and have the surgeon test it thousands of times. Of course, those commercial use cases dont usually make it in the media.