Smart home developers raise concerns about Alexa and Google Assistant security
A year-old Amazon and Google data policy still makes smart home device makers nervous. David Priest March 15, 2020 5:00 AM PDT For years, smart speakers from Amazon, Google and Apple have traded data back and forth with other devices in the home. This is how their voice assistants turn on the smart lights. But in early 2019, something changed: Amazon and Google began requiring continuous status-change updates from devices -- requiring, for instance, partnered smart bulbs to send data to Amazon or Google any time they are turned on or off. It was a seemingly small change and one that received modest media coverage, but some smart home developers are increasingly uncomfortable with the change. A few weeks ago, after publishing a story on the security differences between Apple's Homekit platform and its competitors, I received an email from a popular smart home security company. A representative, who asked to remain unidentified, suggested that I look further into the security issues raised by status updates. After probing further, it appears that not only do status updates make users and their data more vulnerable to attack, but it also gives these tech giants access to more home occupancy data than ever before. Despite the discomfort of numerous partners, Google and Amazon have shown no willingness to alter course. ... https://www.cnet.com/news/smart-home-developers-raise-concerns-about-alexa-and-google-assistant-security/ _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list Medianews@etskywarn.net http://etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews_etskywarn.net
