Remember when everyone was paranoid in thinking that their smart speakers listened to every conversation they had in their house? Well, fortunately, that’s not completely true. However, there are many things that people do need to know to keep themselves safe while using their smart speakers. What are smart speakers? Well, we’ll get into that a little bit as well, so you can fully understand what we’re talking about. They’re in homes and businesses worldwide, and there are vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit that people need to be aware of.
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What is a Smart Speaker?
There are several different smart speakers available, but which ones are secure and a threat?
First off, for those who don’t understand – a smart speaker is a virtual home assistant. Whether you’re using Google Home Assistant, Siri, Amazon’s Echo, or even your Google assistant on your phone, these are considered smart speaker systems since they utilize voice recognition software.
Are These Devices Spying On Me?
This is something that a couple of years ago, a lot of people believed. Believe it or not, there was a privacy threat because cybercriminals can use your devices and hack into servers. While there’s always a chance that you’ll be targeted for an identity crime, many people throw caution to the wind and fail to pay attention. By blindly inputting passwords, credit card information, and much more into their smart speakers, you may be asking for trouble.
These devices record user responses so they can analyze and use your data later on. And yes, Google, Amazon, and Apple can always listen to your recordings, but they generally don’t unless they need to. Therefore, these devices aren’t listening to your conversations, but they are designed to recognize specific triggers to get them to turn on. We’ll get to that soon enough, though!
How Are These Devices Vulnerable?
Ah, here we go. Time to throw some fear into your inevitably secure life! In recent years, there have been numerous studies to show the vulnerabilities. Here are a couple of examples:
Re-Modeling Firmware to Hack Amazon Echo
Amazon’s Echo is an affordable smart speaker, but how secure is it?
A group of hackers in China hacked an amazon echo to access an Amazon user’s echo by dismembering and re-assembling their very own Echo with custom-made firmware. They were then able to target their user’s Echo and hack into the person’s Wi-Fi network to steal the password. Once connected to the user’s Echo, they could use the software to communicate with the target’s speaker. They then got the other Echo to play sounds while recording and transmitting audio from the remote echo from a distance.
The fear here is that many researchers are worried about those who use brute force to trick people into installing altered echoes and then link it into their own. Think about the fact that there are millions of Amazon sellers. This means they can steal all of your pertinent information from you using these patched smart speakers! We’ll tell you how you can stay safe soon enough.
Laser Pointer Audio Emulation
We know laser pointers are not smart speakers, but they can still be hacked.
The most recent study has been that hackers can modify a handheld laser pointer and emulate audio. The vulnerability range can be upwards of approximately 360 feet from your smart speaker as long as there is vulnerability. Being that far away would require some accuracy and skill on the part of the hacker. But the fact that they can make your smart speakers do anything they want is rewarding enough for most hackers. Many people have their smart speakers linked to their home, from turning off lights to opening garage doors, and some even integrate them into their speakers.
This is a HUGE red flag because ACTUAL criminals can manipulate smart speakers by diverting light to emulate sound waves. In doing this, they can actually unlock smart locks to homes, start a car, and even get your information and buy things online. This could allow them to break into your home while you’re away.
How Can I Stay Safe?
Well, first of all, you should have a network security solutions specialist install your smart speakers. Make sure to keep your smart speakers away from any windows, so they’re not visible to outside attackers, and always exercise caution online as you would anywhere else.
Don’t ever believe that just because someone’s re-selling an Amazon Echo or smart speaker they “didn’t like” is safe. ALWAYS (and we can’t enforce that enough) buy smart speakers through the manufacturer themselves. At the same time, you must have private home security measures installed. Remember never to give too much control to your smart speakers, as there are still numerous bugs that are continuously being worked on in hardware, software, and firmware.