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If, as the article claims, my phone can be used to eavesdrop on any conversation I'm having, "even when the phone has been turned off", what is the added attack

by tcmb 9y ago

If, as the article claims, my phone can be used to eavesdrop on any conversation I'm having, "even when the phone has been turned off", what is the added attack vector of a home assistant?

kaybe 9y ago
If I get that right, using your phone to spy on you is a targeted action that targets you if you are of interest (sidenote, it's funny how many people deny being of interest even if they could build you a rocket program if you kidnapped and motivated them). A home assistant on the other hand is always on, listening and profiling its vicinity. So there is a large difference, not if you're under attack but rather if you are not at that moment.
- kapep 9y ago
  I don't see much of a difference here. Both are devices that listen to their surroundings. Both can be used to target the devices owner (if they are near their device) or to profile the devices vicinity. The only difference I see is that the phone location changes more often and that the owner is probably more likely to be near it. I guess people are just more aware of the fact that home assistants listen to everything, so they associate a greater danger with those. Also, everyone is of interest in the eyes of advertising/data collection companies.
  - LyndsySimon 9y ago
    > Both are devices that listen to their surroundings. That's the key, though - Echo/Home are listening passively, by design. Your phone is listening actively, but can be activated remotely to listen passively if you are the target of surveillance by a state actor.
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      >but can be activated remotely to listen passively if you are the target of surveillance by a state actor. As it gets cheaper and easier to retain and analyze the output of the former the bar for the latter decreases. I really don't want to get flagged for the "random" searches and audits every time in interact with a government service in 2020 just because the way I talk checks the proper subset of boxes for some AI to set the "probably doesn't like us" bool on my row to true.

by tcmb 9y ago

If, as the article claims, my phone can be used to eavesdrop on any conversation I'm having, "even when the phone has been turned off", what is the added attack vector of a home assistant?

kaybe 9y ago

If I get that right, using your phone to spy on you is a targeted action that targets you if you are of interest (sidenote, it's funny how many people deny being of interest even if they could build you a rocket program if you kidnapped and motivated them). A home assistant on the other hand is always on, listening and profiling its vicinity. So there is a large difference, not if you're under attack but rather if you are not at that moment.

kapep 9y ago
I don't see much of a difference here. Both are devices that listen to their surroundings. Both can be used to target the devices owner (if they are near their device) or to profile the devices vicinity. The only difference I see is that the phone location changes more often and that the owner is probably more likely to be near it. I guess people are just more aware of the fact that home assistants listen to everything, so they associate a greater danger with those. Also, everyone is of interest in the eyes of advertising/data collection companies.
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  > Both are devices that listen to their surroundings. That's the key, though - Echo/Home are listening passively, by design. Your phone is listening actively, but can be activated remotely to listen passively if you are the target of surveillance by a state actor.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    >but can be activated remotely to listen passively if you are the target of surveillance by a state actor. As it gets cheaper and easier to retain and analyze the output of the former the bar for the latter decreases. I really don't want to get flagged for the "random" searches and audits every time in interact with a government service in 2020 just because the way I talk checks the proper subset of boxes for some AI to set the "probably doesn't like us" bool on my row to true.