Captions and Over-Disclosure
Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions are essential for making media content accessible to users with hearing or visual impairments. However, if these features are auto-generated or poorly configured, they can inadvertently reveal sensitive or unintended information.
Common Vulnerabilities
- Auto-Generated Captions: Automated captioning systems may misinterpret words or phrases, unintentionally exposing sensitive data or irrelevant content.
- Descriptive Audio Tracks: Poorly crafted audio descriptions may provide excessive details about secured areas or visual elements intended to remain private.
- Transcript Oversharing: Transcripts may inadvertently include debugging messages or comments intended for developers.
Examples of Exploits
- Caption Misinterpretation: Sensitive words in a meeting recording are misinterpreted and shared publicly in captions.
- Audio Description Overreach: A description track for a visual demo provides unintended details about a secured login process.
- Transcript Leakage: Debugging or internal notes included in transcripts expose backend functionality.
Mitigation for Secure Media Accessibility
To ensure that captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts enhance accessibility without compromising security:
- Manually review auto-generated captions to ensure accuracy and avoid sensitive information leakage.
- Craft audio descriptions carefully, focusing on relevant visual details while omitting secure elements.
- Audit transcripts to ensure that only necessary content is included, excluding internal notes or debugging messages.
- Test media accessibility features against security standards to identify potential vulnerabilities.
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