HOME SECURITY
The Impact of AI and Voice Assistants
By Robert Hessel
Jake Williams, formerly a hacker at
the National Security Agency for the
Department of Defense, Williams stated
that the chances of being hacked are low
for the average person. The work it takes
for hackers to listen in via your smart
speaker likely isn’t worth the information
they might get. You’re more likely to be
targeted for your banking information by
a scammer than a hacker taking control of
your assistant.
Internet of things (IoT) is an undoubtedly
exciting innovation and a common
buzzword seen throughout today’s tech
industry. This innovation has allowed
for every consumer, regardless of
their computer science or engineering
background, to create their very own
smart home with off-the-shelf products like
IoT-enabled lightbulbs and alarm clocks.
IoT is also part of the evolving healthcare
industry, where enabled devices can be
used for remote health monitoring and
emergency notification systems. These
health devices can range from blood
pressure and heart rate monitors to devices
that are capable of monitoring specialized
implants, such as pacemakers, electronic
wristbands, and hearing aids.
132 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
Despite how exciting
these advancements
are, it’s essential for
consumers to know that
IoT is also known for its
common security flaws.
Vulnerabilities, including
everything from uninstalled
software updates to poor
data protection, have
been known to plague
these enabled devices.
The fundamental security
weakness of IoT is that it
increases the number of
devices you need to protect.
Therefore, when shopping
for smart assistants or AIenabled
devices, keep the
following factors in mind, as
informed decisions are smart
decisions when it comes to
your home’s security:
• Where will you be placing the device
within the home? Smart assistants
are a great novelty, but they can
present a serious security threat
if placed in locations where sensitive
conversations are being held.
• Does the convenience that voice
assistant-enabled devices provide
outweigh the possible security threats
that have been known to develop?
• Do you have children? The
privacy of your kids should be
a concern, and this was the biggest
contributor to the cancellation
of Aristotle, Mattel’s home assistant
for kids. Both Echo and Home offer
voice profiles for different family
members with different privileges for
each person. Although child accounts
require parental consent, they still
provide Amazon and Google
information about your children,
which might include private matters
like medical issues. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Robert Hessel at Source 1
Solutions can be contacted at (727) 538-4114
or visit source1security.com.
T he rapid adoption of
voice assistants
p o w e red by
artificial intelligence
(AI) has quickly ushered in a
new era of home automation.
With this innovative
technology now built into
extremely affordable devices,
ranging from smart speakers
to voice-enabled televisions,
voice assistants can be found
in millions of homes around
the world. For all the
conveniences and advantages
that these devices now
provide us, there has been
surprisingly little discussion
surrounding the home
security threats that these
inherently connected devices
may create. Consider the pros
and cons of this popular new technology.
If you’ve used a voice assistant, you
know just how attentive these digital
helpers can be. With the simple utterance
of a trigger word, followed by a question
or command, users can do anything
from check the day’s weather report to
order a pizza. However, this “always
on” functionality means that devices
that utilize AI-powered voice assistants
essentially behave as secret listening
devices placed within your home. While
this typically isn’t as dangerous as it
sounds, major companies like Google
and Amazon have gone to great lengths
to protect the personal information of their
users, going so far as to guarantee that
private conversations are not recorded.
Keep in mind, however, that both Google
and Amazon store every command you
give the assistants on their servers, ready to
be played back at any time. Furthermore,
there have been instances where these
devices have been hacked. Like any new
technology, voice assistants will have some
security bugs to work out in the coming
years, which means there may be more
hacks in the foreseeable future.
However, in a CNBC interview with
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