Microsoft revealed its AI-optimized Copilot+ PCs on Monday, including a new feature that has raised concern among some security experts.
The Copilot+ PCs will ship with a preview version of a feature called “Recall,” which Microsoft said is designed to feel like having a “photographic memory” of everything you’ve viewed on your PC.
Recall takes “snapshots” of the user’s active screen every few seconds and then enables the user to review their activity in a timeline or by search in order to locate webpages, apps or files they previously viewed.
Microsoft’s blog stated the feature will help users quickly find something they previously viewed without needing to dig through websites, files or “hundreds of emails” to locate it.
A demonstration of the feature during a Wall Street Journal interview of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella showed how the AI models built into the PCs can be used to search for content such as photos using natural language queries.
Microsoft’s FAQ about the Recall feature notes it “does not perform content moderation” and “will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers,” raising concern by many that the sensitive data made readily available through snapshots could fall into the hands of threat actors.
The feature has also been compared with “spyware” due to its constant monitoring of the user’s computer activity.
“Microsoft’s Recall feature raises a few alarms, including security risks of potentially capturing and store detailed and sensitive information, as well as concerns surrounding invasion of privacy. The potential of sensitive information being stored without proper security protocols, puts your cybersecurity and even your identity risk,” Patrick Tiquet, vice president of security & architecture at zero-trust cybersecurity provider Keeper Security told SC Media.
Source: SC Media