Edmontonians giving orders to their new digital assistant speakers may want to take some precautions, according to technology and security experts.
“Eventually there will be ways to hack into these virtual systems,” said Dana DiTomaso, CBC’s tech columnist and president of Edmonton-based digital marketing agency Kick Point.
“They’re too juicy a target for hackers to turn it down.”
Security hacks are not the only concern stemming from the Amazon, Google and Apple devices bought and received by millions over the holiday season.
Dana DiTomaso says digital assistant users should be aware of the risks. (Twitter)
“There is a possibility that an app can be installed on your phone [and] could have a microphone that could be always listening,” said DiTomaso. “And I think a lot of people forget about those kinds of possibilities, of having that in your home.”
She said private information, such as credit card details, can easily be shared by an unsuspecting user and then stolen, as has been the case with baby monitors.
“It’s very easy for someone to get in there and grab that and then use it,” she said.
The devices record the voice of the user and send it back to servers which use “machine learning” to return “the most relevant responses”, said Daniel Blair, a technology researcher and CEO of a virtual reality startup in Winnipeg.
Those with privacy concerns can limit the activity of the device by modifying settings and using mute functions, he said.
Both Amazon and Google say customers can delete information collected by logging in to their Amazon or Google accounts.
But former Ontario privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian said Canadians should carefully consider bringing a device into their home because “you don’t know how your information might be used, to whom it might be disclosed.”
On Tuesday, CNBC reported that, according to sources, Amazon was involved in talks with several consumer companies about product promotion. Amazon told CNBC it had no plans to add advertising to its Alexa devices.
DiTomaso suggested keeping up to date on news about your device in case there is a big leak or hack, and using different passwords in case one is compromised.
Similarly, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada advises users to take a number of steps, such as getting in the habit of reading privacy information, and if it doesn’t seem reasonable, opting out of using the product or service.
Privacy isn’t the only issue. The convenience of voice activated remote-control heat, lighting, locks and other household items can suddenly become a major inconvenience if the home Wi-Fi goes down.
“Always have a non-Wi-Fi enabled back-up plan,” said DiTomaso.