Combating Robocalls with Phone Virtual Assistant Mediated Interaction

Explore a conference talk from USENIX Security '23 that presents an innovative approach to combating robocalls using a phone virtual assistant. Learn about a proposed NLP-based smartphone virtual assistant that automatically vets incoming calls by interacting with the caller to determine if the source is human or a robocaller. Discover how this system aims to overcome the limitations of current defenses that rely on phone blocklists and are ineffective against caller ID spoofing. Gain insights into the security analysis conducted to evaluate the system's effectiveness against current and potential future robocallers. Examine the results of a user study that assesses the virtual assistant's impact on phone call user experience. Understand how this technology could revolutionize robocall prevention by only interrupting users with calls determined to be from legitimate human callers.