3 ms·

Yes, for several reasons. (1) This device is absolutely sealed and opaque. It can't (easily) be analyzed to see what it's running, doing, or sending. It's even

by api 10y ago

Yes, for several reasons. (1) This device is absolutely sealed and opaque. It can't (easily) be analyzed to see what it's running, doing, or sending. It's even more opaque than a phone. It has enough processing power to do local image analysis, object recognition, etc., so just looking at bulk traffic won't prove anything about whether or not it's watching. (2) The camera in this device is part of its core functionality, is always on, and is situated deliberately so as to watch you. (3) The device is literally an Amazon sales rep in your house. Its primary purpose is to represent Amazon and sell you stuff. I've always thought Alexa and the other cloud-connected voice-activated things were completely insane. I will never own such a thing. Period. This takes it to a whole new level of creepiness.

Johnny555 10y ago
Well, not completely opaque -- it uses your wifi network, so you can watch its traffic to see if it's sending streaming video back home without your permission. The stream should be encrypted, so you may not know exactly what it is sending back home, but you simple traffic analysis will tell you if it's sending video. Having it being completely sealed without the ability of the end-user to install software is a security win for most people. Then it's much less likely that a user will install Malware on the device, and it's not likely that Amazon is going to hack their own devices to make them into spy cams. Not allowing user installed software greatly reduces the attack surface of the device.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  > not likely that Amazon is going to hack their own devices to make them into spy cams No, there's no way anyone would do that..... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/pennsylvania-school-fbi-probe-webcam-students-spying/story?id=9905488 http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/pennsylvania-school-fbi-... https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06/352ba174-5397-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/0... https://it.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0111238/58000-security-camera-systems-critically-vulnerable-to-attackers https://it.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0111238/58000-securit... Even if it wasn't intentional, unknown bugs are a thing, and trusting someone like amazon, who clearly does not have their customers best interests in mind, seems foolish to me.
- trevyn 10y ago
  simple traffic analysis will tell you if it's sending video This is not super-useful; it could locally cache "bad" video and send it later when you think it is only sending "good" video.

by api 10y ago

Johnny555 10y ago

Well, not completely opaque -- it uses your wifi network, so you can watch its traffic to see if it's sending streaming video back home without your permission. The stream should be encrypted, so you may not know exactly what it is sending back home, but you simple traffic analysis will tell you if it's sending video. Having it being completely sealed without the ability of the end-user to install software is a security win for most people. Then it's much less likely that a user will install Malware on the device, and it's not likely that Amazon is going to hack their own devices to make them into spy cams. Not allowing user installed software greatly reduces the attack surface of the device.

CaptSpify 10y ago
> not likely that Amazon is going to hack their own devices to make them into spy cams No, there's no way anyone would do that..... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/pennsylvania-school-fbi-probe-webcam-students-spying/story?id=9905488 http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/pennsylvania-school-fbi-... https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/06/352ba174-5397-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/12/0... https://it.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0111238/58000-security-camera-systems-critically-vulnerable-to-attackers https://it.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0111238/58000-securit... Even if it wasn't intentional, unknown bugs are a thing, and trusting someone like amazon, who clearly does not have their customers best interests in mind, seems foolish to me.
trevyn 10y ago
simple traffic analysis will tell you if it's sending video This is not super-useful; it could locally cache "bad" video and send it later when you think it is only sending "good" video.