Ever wondered if your voice assistant is listening to your conversations? The answer: most likely.
Unfortunately, Internet of Things or IoT devices often are not updated regularly, so when a new exploitable vulnerability is found, it can be easily compromised. In some situations, anyone can view the settings, data, metadata, etc. of that device, given that the attacker is on your network. Be sure to update your device whenever a security patch is released!
IoT devices generally ship with default credentials – 'admin' or 'password.' These defaults can allow any attacker on the network to access your device. The best way to counteract this is to set a strong, unique password.
Like default passwords, the devices also arrive with default configurations, which may be set to send information back to the manufacturer. If you are concerned about the possibility of your personal information being collected and re-sold, you can change this by going into the privacy settings and configuring them to fit your preferences for sharing certain data.
When it comes to the data these devices collect, where does it go? Your data can be obtained by brokers who then sell it to companies for marketing and targeted ads. In some cases, whatever your voice assistant hears, you may eventually see an advertisement for it. Remember, “if a service is free, you are the product.”
The positive aspect of this is that you can see your data and potentially remove it from your device. Google lets users download all of their data. While this may not necessarily delete the data, you are able to review what data Google has collected. If you want to delete your data, you can navigate to your activity, view it, and delete it. On other voice assistants, like Amazon Alexa, you can view and delete the data it has collected, but you are not able to download the data.
The benefit of IoT devices is convenience around the house. You’re able to set a smart thermostat to cool your home at a certain time or turn it up remotely if you forget to do so before leaving the house. Voice assistants are also useful if you need to search for directions but cannot do so safely, by asking “Hey Siri, how do I get to [location] from here?” But there are many security and privacy concerns to using Internet of Things. Using the best practices to configure these devices will mitigate some risk to your data.
Remember, the S in IoT stands for security.
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