{"id":3970,"date":"2024-06-10T17:02:17","date_gmt":"2024-06-10T22:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/application-security\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-privacy-security-failings"},"modified":"2024-06-10T17:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T22:02:17","slug":"microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/06\/10\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Modifies &#8216;Recall&#8217; AI Feature Amid Privacy, Security Failings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eu-images.contentstack.com\/v3\/assets\/blt6d90778a997de1cd\/bltc2dcf18c1433d5f4\/666777a0bfd3b75ffa70c50b\/Total_Recall-Photo_12-Alamy.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Microsoft is adding new security measures to assuage widely publicized concerns over its new &#8220;Recall&#8221; AI feature. Some, though, still aren&#8217;t convinced the company went far enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">It&#8217;s now just eight days until Microsoft releases Recall, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven program that will periodically take, store, and analyze screenshots of Copilot+ PCs as they&#8217;re being used day-to-day. Recall is supposed to act like a kind of memory bank, allowing users to instantly find and reference things they&#8217;ve come across recently: apps, websites, images, and documents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">From the outset, Recall has been criticized as a potential <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/data-privacy\/microsofts-recall-feature-draws-criticism-from-privacy-advocates\" rel=\"noopener\">goldmine for personal data theft<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">. The noise got loud enough that, on Friday, Microsoft announced <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.windows.com\/windowsexperience\/2024\/06\/07\/update-on-the-recall-preview-feature-for-copilot-pcs\/\" rel=\"noopener\">three new security-oriented updates<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"> for it:<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"basic-list\" class=\"BasicList BasicList_nestedLevel_0 BasicList_variant_unordered BasicList_limited\">\n<ul data-testid=\"basic-list-unordered\" class=\"BasicList-UnorderedList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6.5\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"8\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">In a reversal of its initial stance, Microsoft will now ship Recall turned off by default.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"6.3724137931034\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"8.1931034482759\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Users will need to enroll in <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/vulnerabilities-threats\/researchers-undermine-windows-hello-on-lenovo-dell-surface-pro-pcs\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows Hello<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"> in order to enable it, and so-called &#8220;proof of presence&#8221; will be required to use its primary features.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"BasicList-ListItem BasicList-ListItem_variant_unordered\" readability=\"7\"><span data-component=\"icon\" data-name=\"Circle\" class=\"BasicList-ListIcon BasicList-ListIcon_variant_unordered\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"BasicList-Item\" readability=\"9\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Recall data will be encrypted, and only decrypted and accessible once a user authenticates via Windows Hello.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Though they may represent a step in the right direction, experts remain skeptical that these changes will be enough to protect users&#8217; most sensitive passwords, photos, personally identifying information (PII), and financial information from hackers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_h2 ContentText_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-text\" id=\"Risks in Recall: A Case Study\">Risks in Recall: A Case Study<\/h2>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Many security experts cringed when Recall was announced, but few more than Marc-Andr\u00e9 Moreau, CTO of Devolutions. He worried that Windows&#8217; newest toy would inevitably capture and store visible passwords from his company&#8217;s software for managing remote connections. With such passwords in hand, hackers would be able to easily connect to and manipulate any victim PC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">&#8220;Looking at documentation for how Recall works,&#8221; he recalls, &#8220;it literally said that it wouldn&#8217;t make an effort of removing sensitive information, credentials, or PII \u2014 anything which you would want scraped out, it would just keep in local files.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Microsoft&#8217;s logic, it seemed, was that because Recall screenshots were stored only on the user&#8217;s machine, they would remain safe from remote access. &#8220;Microsoft has this new chip which makes it possible to do the processing locally, and they thought that everybody would be fine since the data isn&#8217;t uploaded to the cloud,&#8221; Moreau explains. &#8220;But you wouldn&#8217;t install a keylogger on your machine just because the files are stored locally. Files can be grabbed by malware. So why would you enable Recall?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">To demonstrate the point, he performed a simple red team exercise. In his telling, &#8220;I didn&#8217;t have to do much. I just set up an environment, used some tool that somebody made online to force-install it, and then I installed [Devolutions&#8217;] Remote Desktop Manager. I clicked &#8216;view password,&#8217; then &#8216;record,&#8217; and then I found the database. I opened it, and I could see the extracted password alongside the screenshot that includes the password.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"embeds\" readability=\"7.9851632047478\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"9.7596439169139\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here&#8217;s Recall capturing temporarily visible passwords from Remote Desktop Manager in a test Azure VM. It&#8217;s less effective that I would have thought, the search results are screenshots, and it&#8217;s unclear how one can obtain the full OCR text it used for the match <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RUiLs57bKz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/RUiLs57bKz<\/a><br \/>\u2014 Marc-Andr\u00e9 Moreau (@awakecoding) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/awakecoding\/status\/1797656613127590300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 3, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Other researchers have also found simple ways of <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doublepulsar.com\/recall-stealing-everything-youve-ever-typed-or-viewed-on-your-own-windows-pc-is-now-possible-da3e12e9465e\" rel=\"noopener\">accessing sensitive data in Recall screenshots<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">. One has already developed and released an <\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/xaitax\/TotalRecall\" rel=\"noopener\">open source tool<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"> to help speed up the job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">To try to protect his customers, Moreau next looked for a way to exclude his company&#8217;s software from Recall by default. He came up short.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_h2 ContentText_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-text\" id=\"Are Microsoft's New Updates Enough?\">Are Microsoft&#8217;s New Updates Enough?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Users will have more control over their data privacy now, thanks to Microsoft&#8217;s turning off Recall by default.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Moreau is skeptical, though, that Windows Hello can be fully and properly integrated into Recall without delaying its preview release, which is mere days away. &#8220;I&#8217;m in software, things don&#8217;t happen that fast,&#8221; he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Dark Reading has reached out to Microsoft for comment on how it will be able to marry Windows Hello and Recall in time for June 18.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">In the barely a month since Satya Nadella published a letter &#8220;<\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.microsoft.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/03\/prioritizing-security-above-all-else\/\" rel=\"noopener\">prioritizing security above all else<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">,&#8221; for some critics, Recall recalls other AI products that are getting rushed to market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\"><span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\">Ironically, AI could well solve these programs&#8217; most pressing security flaws. &#8220;I could upload a Recall screenshot to ChatGPT today and tell it to identify the data which looks sensitive, and it will be able to,&#8221; Moreau notes. &#8220;They could have used their AI chip to help solve this [data leakage] but they didn&#8217;t even try. They were too eager to ship.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/application-security\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-privacy-security-failings\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft is adding new security measures to assuage widely publicized<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[809],"class_list":["post-3970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dark-reading"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=1800%2C1012&ssl=1",1800,1012,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=1536%2C864&ssl=1",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=1800%2C1012&ssl=1",1800,1012,true],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1",1024,576,true],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?resize=825%2C575&ssl=1",825,575,true],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?resize=590%2C410&ssl=1",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Dark Reading","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/darkreading\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/microsoft-modifies-recall-ai-feature-amid-privacy-security-failings.jpg?fit=1800%2C1012&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}