Amazon Alexa-Powered Device Recorded and Shared User's Conversation Without Permission
May 24 2018 - 07:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Laura Stevens
Amazon.com Inc. said that one of its Echo home speakers
mistakenly recorded a private conversation and sent it to a person
in the owners' contact list, an incident that raises questions
about the security of such voice-operated devices.
Confirming a report by a local television station in Seattle,
Amazon on Thursday said that the Echo device misunderstood pieces
of a conversation as commands, causing it to think it was being
instructed to send the message.
"As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating
options to make this case even less likely," a spokeswoman added in
a statement.
The incident was first reported by KIRO 7, which aired an
interview with a Portland, Ore., user identified only as Danielle.
The user said that one of her husband's employees had received a
recording sent from inside her house. The couple verified it was
real and determined that it originated with one of their Echo
devices.
Attempts to reach the woman for comment weren't immediately
successful.
The Echo and other devices from Amazon powered by its
artificial-intelligence bot Alexa have sold quickly since hitting
the market in 2014, and have been followed by similar gadgets
including Alphabet Inc.'s Google Home and Apple Inc.'s HomePod.
Proponents envision them eventually helping to handle a wide array
of personal tasks, from operating smart-home devices to paying for
gas from consumers' cars. Amazon last year enabled the Echo to be
used for calling and messaging, too.
The growing popularity of such devices in homes and vehicles has
triggered new privacy concerns from some consumers and analysts who
fear the combination of internet-connected microphones and
AI-powered automation could lead to mishaps or intentional
misuse.
The devices are intended to remain offline unless they hear a
specific term known as the wake word -- in Amazon's case, the
default is "Alexa." In effect, though, that means the microphones
are on by default whenever the devices have power.
The Echo, for example, continuously records small pieces of
audio on the device that it is supposed to automatically erase
unless it is activated. Only after the device hears its wake word
is it supposed to be able send anything to the cloud or elsewhere
on the network. Amazon has previously said that its devices are
extremely unlikely to be hacked, and the Echo and its sister
devices include a mute button that disconnects the device
internally as an extra safety feature.
It isn't uncommon for Alexa or other voice-activated bots to
mishear their wake words when users utter similar words or phrases
in their presence.
Amazon said the Portland incident involved a series of such
misunderstandings. It said the Echo woke "due to a word in
background conversation sounding like 'Alexa.' Then, the subsequent
conversation was heard as a 'send message' request. At which point,
Alexa said out loud 'To whom?' At which point, the background
conversation was interpreted as a name in the customers contact
list." Amazon said Alexa then asked for confirmation and
interpreted further background conversation as giving it.
Amazon also recently said it was adding a fix for Alexa-powered
devices after users reported the machines started laughing for no
reason. The company also attributed that to the software
misunderstanding what it heard.
"The privacy side has not been fully fleshed out with digital
assistants, " said Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures,
a venture-capital firm specializing in tech research. Digital
assistants still need more training to interpret commands and
language more perfectly, he said, something that consumers should
consider with the devices in their homes. "Eventually we're going
to get it figured out" but it's not there yet, he said.
Write to Laura Stevens at laura.stevens@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2018 19:22 ET (23:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024