THE INNOVATIONS THAT SHAPE OUR WORLD, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE
Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines which can be operated without detailed knowledge of their workings. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools.
The smart hubs have eyes: Why the Amazon Echo Show should have you asking questions about privacy
IT IS, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, AS TRUSTWORTHY AS AMAZON ITSELF
By now, we've grown accustomed to our devices listening to us. Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby, Cortana, and every other disembodied virtual taskrabbit has been hearing our commands—and who knows what else—for years. But, with its last two smart hub devices, Amazon has pushed one step beyond the microphone, asking users to install cameras in their homes. Yesterday, with the announcement of the Echo Show, Amazon reaffirmed its plan to have Alexa see you in addition to hear you. It’s a small step forward in terms of usability, but a major can of worms when it comes to our security and privacy.
For most users, the greater concern might not be what Amazon or the government wants with the Echo, but what hackers can do with a microphone, camera and screen placed on the bedside table or in their child’s nursery. In this case, the only immediate protection for most people will be the skill of Amazon’s engineering team. We saw a similar conversation take place regarding smart TVs and their ability to hear things they maybe shouldn't.
“As miscreants learn that the pranks they can pull with this, Amazon’s going to be investing more and more into stopping these pranks, “ said Bob Gourley, co-founder of Cognitio Corp, a firm that does security consulting. “But there are going to be pranks, you can be sure of that.”
Pranks covers a wide range of activity, from a kid ordering a favorite toy over Amazon without parental permission to hackers finding their way into the device to watch live video inside a home. Gourley specifically highlights Shodan, a search engine that finds internet-of-things devices and, if they’re unsecured, lets outsiders watch video from cameras set up inside homes. Amazon has likely thought of this and included security features like requiring a voice pin before purchases that make it harder for anyone to simply gain access to all the device's features. Still, it’s theoretically possible that a person could find a different internet-connected device, like a nanny cam with a default password, and then try to use that access to get into the Echo Show.
“Amazon likes building with Android and Linux,” said Gourley, “so we can assume this is a tablet with the Amazon build of Android or Linux and probably some additional security. There’s something out there for hackers to target.”
More likely are actions that take advantage of the Echo responding to any voice. Echo at present does not distinguish between the people who own it, their children, houseguests, or even television ads. (Earlier this year, an ad for Burger King activated a similar listening feature on Google devices.) Right now, Amazon mitigates this by letting users change the default word that wakes up Alexa to one of a preselected set of phrases, which provides a modest increase in security. Letting users create custom wakeup words would make it a lot harder to take over the machine by voice activation. Amazon also recommends users turn off the microphone on Echo devices when away from home, so someone can't just ask Alexa to open a garage door.
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