Scary sounds - Scientists expose cyber vulnerability of critical sensors

New work calls into question the longstanding computer science tenet that software can automatically trust hardware sensors, which feed autonomous systems with fundamental data they need to make decisions. The inertial sensors involved in this research are known as capacitive MEMS accelerometers. They measure the rate of change in an object's speed in three dimensions. Using precisely tuned acoustic tones, a research team deceived 15 different models of accelerometers into registering movement that never occurred. The approach served as a backdoor into the devices--enabling the researchers to control other aspects of the system.