The spy among us

An interesting and balance article about the potential risks for digital assistants. With Amazon Echo now available in Australia we have the gamut of choice when it comes to our digital assistants.

While I don’t think any of the products on offer today necessarily create a significant risk, they do introduce a vulnerability that can be exploited. You will be providing a cloud enabled device with a lot of information about yourself. You are also relying on security practices of the company that provides the digital assistant. As recent years have shown, few if any companies can claim to be perfect in the area of data protection.

The one thing that I think will be on the horizon with these that we haven’t seen as yet is the introduction of these devices into the business world. I personally can’t conceive of a justification for them today, but if you think back a few years we could probably have said the same about WiFi and the iPad!

Looking forward to this brave new world.

https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/surveillance-operative-lurking-living-room

Meet the plot to the next Speed sequel…..

With the Amazon Echo set to launch in Australia next month it is a good time to take stock of how much integration is really a good thing. The article doesn’t really provide any revelations that would surprise anyone familiar with cyber security, but a cyber attack while sitting at your desk will have a less kinetic effect than a cyber attack while you are travelling at 80km/h on a busy highway.

I don’t think that security should be a reason to never consider a technology, but a real security by design approach should always be the focus in today’s environment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/business/amazon-alexa-car.html