Is voice dictation a security risk on iPad?
- Thread starter Padcatt
- Start date
twerppoet
iPad Fan
Go to Settings > General > Keyboard and tap on the link under Enable Dictation. Read that and you know as much as I know. Understand it all, and you’re ahead of me. 
All voice samples go to Apple’s servers, so I guess it depends on whether you trust them; their security and/or their ethics. For myself, I’d be more worried about someone following me around with a recorder.
Security should evaluated on three main areas: risk, ease of attack, and damage.
Risk is how likely you are to be attacked. Are you a good target for criminals; worth the effort, or part of a targeted demographic (elderly, wealthy, celeb, etc.)
Ease of attack. How easy is it to compromise your computer, or convince you to do something compromising.
Damage. How bad are the possible consequences of a successful attack.
The dictation question only addresses ease of attack. The answer, in my opinion, is that it is not easy. Not only would someone have to bypass Apple’s security, they’d have to figure out how to use the data to impersonate you in a usable scenario. Many spy movies revolve around the good (or bad) guys doing exactly this, but outside the script writer’s world it’s not that easy.
P.S. This is mostly from memory of a terrorist risk assessment I was a part of, back around 2005; but it applies well to any sort of risk assessment. I do not remember the exact definitions and terms, but the gist should be about right.
All voice samples go to Apple’s servers, so I guess it depends on whether you trust them; their security and/or their ethics. For myself, I’d be more worried about someone following me around with a recorder.
Security should evaluated on three main areas: risk, ease of attack, and damage.
Risk is how likely you are to be attacked. Are you a good target for criminals; worth the effort, or part of a targeted demographic (elderly, wealthy, celeb, etc.)
Ease of attack. How easy is it to compromise your computer, or convince you to do something compromising.
Damage. How bad are the possible consequences of a successful attack.
The dictation question only addresses ease of attack. The answer, in my opinion, is that it is not easy. Not only would someone have to bypass Apple’s security, they’d have to figure out how to use the data to impersonate you in a usable scenario. Many spy movies revolve around the good (or bad) guys doing exactly this, but outside the script writer’s world it’s not that easy.
P.S. This is mostly from memory of a terrorist risk assessment I was a part of, back around 2005; but it applies well to any sort of risk assessment. I do not remember the exact definitions and terms, but the gist should be about right.
