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Most people will have heard of Amazon's Echo. The voice activated device that does anything from tell you the weather to playing your favourite song.

You use the voice command "Alexa" to alert the device that the next thing it hears is going to be a command.

The fact that the device is listening for this prompt means it is listening 24/7 to all sounds and voices within it's detection range in order for it to spring to life.

A few people have raised concerns about the Echo constantly listening into their conversations, but others will say until it hears the command "Alexa" then it is not collecting any data.

According to The Telegraph news paper, researchers have now discovered a way to turn the Echo into an old fashioned wiretap, which would send all the recordings to the hackers computer.

The Telegraph's article says:

"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."

With the internet of things looking like the future, where everything from your toaster to your fridge is connected to the internet, it seems this type of thing will become common place.

The hack on the Echo seems fairly unlikely, as a person would need physical access to the device. Under the base of the speaker are the ports used for debugging the device and someone would need access to this in order to plant malicious software, which seems highly unlikely.

The Telegraph article did say that:

"Original Amazon Echo speakers, released in the UK last year, are affected by the vulnerability, rather than the smaller Echo Dot. Amazon has fixed the problem in newer models released in 2017"

Amazon said: "To help ensure the latest safeguards are in place, as a general rule, we recommend customers purchase Amazon devices from Amazon or a trusted retailer and that they keep their software up-to-date."

I think the fact that the Amazon Echo and other devices, such as Google Home are constantly listening to their surroundings is a sign of how open people are to giving up their privacy.

It was reported not long ago that the authorities in Bentonville had issued Amazon with a warrant, requesting they hand over any audio records from an Echo device that was in the home of suspect they had in custody. It is worth noting that Amazon did decline to do so but the fact this was an option for authorities in the first place must surly raise questions?

What do people think? Are people ok to give up their privacy for technological advances ? Or should we be more cautious and be aware of the risks to being so open with our lives and data?

The original article regarding the Echo can be found here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/08/01/amazon-echo-can-used-eavesdrop-conversations-hackers-reveal/

As usual thanks for listening

Happy Steeming Steemers and Steemettes.

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