A recent research says that Amazon Echo is susceptible to attack through which the hackers might hamper its operating system by installing a virus or any software to track your activities.
Amazon Echo is one of the best smart speakers has a huge customer base and is the one the most highlighted device. Due to which many unauthorized bodies keep on making attempts to hack its operating system to facilitate the spread of malicious software and track the personal activities related to those devices.
Recently a research report by MWR InfoSecurity says that the Amazon Echo is vulnerable to virus attack from many hackers. They are targeting to hack its Linux operating system so that they could be able to exploit the functioning of devices without affecting its physical outlook. Through this, they can gain access to all the activities of its users, without letting them know about this modification. The software installed by them can even allow them to control the device remotely, gain access to all the authentication pass keys, play microphone audios to remote devices.
The report states that the device is at risk due to some flaws in its hardware design like the use of debugging pads that are exposed to the base of the instrument and it's configuration settings that allow its users to boot up the device from any of the external SD cards. The researchers practically saw that if the rubber base of Amazon Echo device is taken out, then one can find almost 18 debug pads that can easily facilitate the access to the software of Echo from any external SD card. Through which any software can be added to alter the device functionality. This whole process can be completed without leaving any physical impression as the rubber latch can be reinserted to its original place after the completion of the task.
Barnes says that he tried to compromise with the security of his Echo device. Firstly he installed the remote shell giving the command line over his computer. He felt as if his computer has access to all the information inside the Echo device. Then he tracked out the processing of audio and thus came to know the process to audio can be sent through the network. He was able to hear the conversation from the microphone without letting the other user know about it.
Researches prove that both 2015 and 2016 Amazon Echo models are susceptible to software and hardware attacks.
Some Amazon Echo devices have a mute button on it. So the people should switch off the microphone by pressing the mute button so that no unauthorized person could hear the conversations and audio of your Echo device. Also, users should always purchase their Amazon Echo devices from a branded store that is trusted to provide the original devices without any additional modifications to it.
Even after buying the Amazon Echo for yourself just go through all the security assessments and make sure it meets all the specified details. Always keep a check on your device and never allow unknown people to make any adjustment or modification to your Echo device. Still if in any case, you encounter any security issues with the newly purchased Echo device, then immediately take it to any of the nearest Amazon Echo service centers and report its improper functioning. Don’t be late in reporting the issue as it could comprise with your security parameters.
No comments:
Post a Comment