Alexa can affect home insurance!

SuperHan

To be fair, between my email account (which has holiday confirmation etc) and my mobile phone (which knows my location at any given time) a hacker could access all of the information that you refer to above.


They'd get about 80% from my email account alone (including knowing what expensive items are in the house as I tend to get receipts emailed).


That's been the case for at least ten years and my house insurance is yet to charge a premium because I have an email address. So I'll wait until I see it to believe it.

takman

capital0ne wrote: »

It' not happened yet but if you have an Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri device in your home, it will one day affect your insurance.

Why, well they both listen and record and analyse every word said in your house. Now imagine a hacker gains access to those records or Alexa directly it won't be that hard to know your daily routine, when your holiday's are going to be, when you're away for along weekend and so on. Then hook Alexa up to your security system and any good hacker ( a normal six year old for example) will be able to deactivate it. Then if you have a smart lock (these are being touted now) the hacker can be in without any effort - bang goes your contents insurance!

Think this will never happen, just look at how high end luxury cars are being stolen with cloning devices available from, yes that's right Amazon!

Good luck folks, sleep tight!

Why don't you do some research before you make silly posts like this. Alexa does not analyse and/or record every word said in your house (and neither does siri or google home).

It works by listening for the trigger word (which is by default "Alexa") this is processed locally and no recording or logs are kept until it hears the trigger word.
Once it hears this trigger word it will light up and then anything said then (that it understands) is logged and processed. You can check the logs online to see every word it processes.

People who know far more about it than you have looked at the information sent to the server in detail and confirmed this to be correct.

capital0ne

takman wrote: »

Why don't you do some research before you make silly posts like this. Alexa does not analyse and/or record every word said in your house (and neither does siri or google home).

I looked into what you said and found this in precisely 1 second:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/08/01/amazon-echo-can-used-eavesdrop-conversations-hackers-reveal/
Amazon Echo can be used to eavesdrop on conversations, hackers reveal

One of the greatest fears about the Amazon Echo has been confirmed: eavesdroppers are able to listen to entire conversations happening around the device even if the owner hasn't said "Alexa".

Researchers have discovered a way to turn the Echo speaker into a "wiretap" that sends all recordings to a hacker's computer in a security flaw that will confirm consumers' fears about the "always on" listening device.

The vulnerability could let cyber criminals listen to microphone recordings, see an owner's Amazon credentials, steal sensitive information, and takeover the device.

"Someone could use [the hack] to install malicious software on the device and turn it into a wiretap without the person who owns the Echo knowing," said Mark Barnes, one of the MWR security consultants who discovered the problem.

This was back in 2017.
And today, move forward a year, it's been reported in the Telegraph (Sat 12 May page 11), Hackers find a way to whisper in Alexa's ear. The article says the device is susceptible to hacking, using inaudible commands. The device (Alexa, Google's device, Siri, the Apple assitant, and presumably any other device with a mike)can be commanded by the hacker to do anything, for example turn on/off a linked device. Now the next step in this scenario, and it won't be long is the Smart Lock, (Apple - iLock maybe) being integrated into the system.

Then a hacker can check when you're out, on holiday, from your Facebook posts of some lovely beach, or just the location of your phone, open up your house, disable the alarm and then proceed to empty it.

Sleep tight folks, it'll never happen.

eddddy

capital0ne wrote: »

I looked into what you said and found this in precisely 1 second:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/08/01/amazon-echo-can-used-eavesdrop-conversations-hackers-reveal/
Amazon Echo can be used to eavesdrop on conversations, hackers reveal

To get the full story, maybe you should have looked for a few more seconds:

Amazon's Alexa had a flaw that let eavesdroppers listen in

The problem was promptly fixed once researchers alerted Amazon.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-alexa-voice-assistant-had-a-flaw-that-let-eavesdroppers-listen-in/

Essentially, the problem seemed to be that if you added a malicious 'skill' to Alexa, the 'skill' could eavesdrop. (But that 'loop hole' is now closed)

That's very similar to if you install a malicious application on your PC, it can do things like record what you type.


So I guess the moral is... be a little wary of 'skills' from dodgy sources, in the same way as you should be wary of PC apps from dodgy sources.


Edit to add...

So if I had wanted to burgle your house, I would have had to create an Alexa 'skill', and then somehow persuaded you that this is a useful 'skill' for you to use, so that you would add it to your Alexa.

Then I'd listen for hours and hours in the hope that you mention your daily routine or holiday plans.

Obviously, it's worrying that Amazon didn't spot this vulnerability, but there's no evidence that any hackers actually used it, and it may not have been that useful to hackers anyway.

redpete

capital0ne wrote: »

Good luck folks, sleep tight!

I will sleep very well thank you, safe in the knowledge that i will always be far more at risk from an opportunist with a jemmy than from a 6-yr old who can hack Alexa.

capital0ne

eddddy wrote: »

To get the full story, maybe you should have looked for a few more seconds

You're missing the point entirely, I agree, the recent reported hacks are of little consequence, so nothing to worry about here. Or is there. These devices have only been about for a couple of years. Things will develop, and before long someone will hack your little digital helper to help them selves to all your funds form your IoT world.

Five years ago you never heard of conveyencing funds being garbbed by hackers, now you hear about it everyday. And that's just asimple scam.

When these 'helpers' start getting hacked and people lose out it will al be hushed up and dealt with.

I'll be back in ten years to be proved wrong, meanwhile......