You Have One Week to Tell Amazon Not to Share Your Internet Connection with Neighbors

Amazon is about to enable a new feature on Alexa and Echo devices on June 8 that will create a wireless mesh service, sharing a slice of users’ internet bandwidth with their nearby neighbors. The steps to disable this intrusive new feature from the Masters of the Universe can be found below.

Ars Technica reports that e-commerce and tech giant Amazon is introducing a new feature on June 8 that will turn existing Alexa, Echo, and other devices into a wireless mesh network that can provide nearby neighbors with access to the user’s internet connection.

On June 8, the company will enroll the devices in Amazon Sidewalk, its new wireless mesh service, sharing a part of the user’s internet bandwidth with nearby people. By default, devices including Alexa, Echo, Ring, security cams, outdoor lights, motion sensors, and Tile trackers will be enrolled in the system.

As many people are unlikely to change their default settings, millions of people will likely be automatically added to the program without knowing anything about it. The Amazon webpage for Amazon Sidewalk states that it “is currently only available in the US.”

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2021/06/01/you-have-a-week-to-tell-amazon-not-to-share-your-internet-connection-with-neighbors/

FWIW

I’ve heard about this but once you get past the hype and hysteria, is it dangerous or not? Articles are not in agreement.

Well, it's hard to say whether it's dangerous or not... I mean, it's not going to explode or kill you or anything like that... so physically, it's not life threatening.

But, it has a microphone, speaker, WiFi, LAN and Bluetooth connectivity and continues to attempt to connect to the internet if possible. It may even have a 4G or 5G chip inside as well for wireless connectivity like your smartphone.

It listens for your voice to give it a command. It listens to your voice even if you don't give it a command. There is no telling what it does with your voice or where it might send your voiceprint.

How do you keep a secret from it? Power it off? Does it have an internal battery inside? Is it really turned off when you power it off?

If it's connected to the internet, then it has an IP address, and with an IP address, it can be hacked. And if it's hacked, the hackers can do anything they want with the device. Even if it's not hacked, who's to say that the manufacturer isn't listening in 'eaves dropping' style.

If somebody gets enough voice recordings, they can mimic your voice and make it sound like you said something you didn't.

I wouldn't even accept one if you gave it to me as a present.

FWIW

I’m not taking about the device but about allowing strange people access to your home wifi. That doesn’t seem safe at all.

WALTER784 said:

a new feature on Alexa and Echo devices

I won't touch those devices with a 10 meter cattle prod. They have been a security risk even before this latest little thing.

There is another more insidious risk - what if someone manages to hijack it in the neighborhood, and then use that to download illegal content through your network? Guess whose IP address the feds will track down? Guess whose door the SWAT team will blast in at 3 AM?

Most people don't even think of those kind of hazards from other people's devices getting access to your network.

If I have some kind of camera or other device on my network to keep an eye on things, it will be something I have full control of the software and hardware, open source, so I can know exactly what it's doing, and it won't morph into something else without my explicit knowledge or consent.

And I will be the only one who can access the thing. And I'd much rather have it hard wired rather than wireless, anyway. Then it won't show up to people wardriving and looking for wifi traffic.

Showtalk said:

allowing strange people access to your home wifi. That doesn’t seem safe at all.

Bingo.

Wait until someone gets raided by the feds for something strange people used someone's home wifi to conduct illegal activity. I'd bet someone tech savvy has even made book on it. It's WHEN rather than IF that happens.

Same with things like smart light bulbs, refrigerators and other Internet of Things that were hastily rushed to market with no real regard for security. "Make it work and get it into the stores in time for Black Friday, and we'll worry about securing it some day."

And then we have refrigerators that get hijacked to participate in denial of service attacks, light bulbs used as a dark web server for child pornography, and Ring doorbells used to dox people.

$1,661.87 in cats (ROCKETMAN_S) said...

Wait until someone gets raided by the feds for something strange people used someone's home wifi to conduct illegal activity. I'd bet someone tech savvy has even made book on it. It's WHEN rather than IF that happens.

Same with things like smart light bulbs, refrigerators and other Internet of Things that were hastily rushed to market with no real regard for security. "Make it work and get it into the stores in time for Black Friday, and we'll worry about securing it some day."

And then we have refrigerators that get hijacked to participate in denial of service attacks, light bulbs used as a dark web server for child pornography, and Ring doorbells used to dox people.

All of that... YES... and one even more scary thing is new model cars of today with their auto steering/driving features. Somebody could hack into your car and control it without your knowledge. Cause you to go through red lights, when you hit the brakes, your car accelerates instead because it's been hacked, etc. Those are the really scary and dangerous things.

FWIW

Amazon Alexa security bug allowed access to voice history ...

Amazon Alexa Skills Present Security Risks | eSecurityPlanet

Why You Must Beware What You Ask Amazon Alexa - Forbes

Alexa vulnerability is a reminder to delete your voice history ...

Privacy issues and security risks in Alexa Skills | EurekAlert ...

Amazon Alexa security bug could have let hackers listen in to ...

Study Reveals Extent of Privacy Vulnerabilities With Amazon's ...

There are several dozen others as well.

Bottom line: It's a security hole that continues to get exploited.

FWIW

It can also be used to turn off AC in summer and heat in winter.  

I saw that on a TV drama.