Understanding the Whisper Leak Attack

A cybersecurity event named Whisper Leak has been identified as a novel side-channel attack. The reported targets of this attack are remote language models. The classification as a ‘novel’ attack indicates the use of a previously unrecorded technique or vector against this type of AI infrastructure.

Attack Classification and Methodology

Whisper Leak is classified as a side-channel attack. This type of security exploit functions by gathering information from the indirect effects of a system’s operations, rather than by directly breaching its defenses. Common examples of side channels include a system’s processing time, power consumption, or acoustic emissions. By analyzing these outputs, an attacker can infer sensitive data being processed by the system.

The targets for this exploit are specifically remote language models. These are large-scale AI models that are hosted on cloud servers and accessed by users and applications over a network connection. The attack’s focus on remote models distinguishes it from threats that require physical access to the hardware.