Smart virtual assistants, such as Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Siri, are voice activated. It’s great – you don’t even have to click a button – just say the word, and your smart device can tell you the weather forecast, look information up on the internet for you, turn lights and music on and off….even order shopping for you! It’s so convenient and easy!
Around a quarter of the UK population owns a smart device like this. And their popularity just keeps growing. Priya Abani, a Director at Amazon, has said “we basically envision a world where Alexa is everywhere”. Seems very likely…
So what’s the problem?
In order to respond to your voice, the smart devices need to be “always listening”. Always ready for that “wake word” or phrase.
But if they are always listening, what are they hearing? And can anyone else hear it?
In short, how secure is it to have an always-listening device around?
The truth of the matter is that these devices are not just listening; they are also recording what they hear. And this data is available to the platforms providing them for analysis and use as they see fit, potentially.
And they may not just listen when you use the “wake” word. How many people have experienced saying something entirely different, and hearing the virtual assistant respond?! Kind of funny at the time, if it isn’t too annoying. But it is also potentially a security risk…
So, what can be done about it?
- You should be able to delete your voice recordings. This is worth doing.
- Mute the microphone! Only turn it on when you need it.
- Don’t link accounts with sensitive information (e.g. banking) to your device.
- Change the settings so that you personally manage what data is being linked with your account.
- Turn off your device when you’re away. If it doesn’t have a power switch, unplug it.
Taking a few moments to make these changes should protect you from the most obvious risks associated with enjoying your voice-activated virtual assistant.
If you’d like to chat about any aspect of security with technology, give us a call in the datamills office on 0114 287 0510, or email us on info@datamills.co.uk