Alexa Reporting Home Conversations?

[Buck52]

Anyone know about this?

It appears as though a few recently disabled veterans, who had their disability ratings significantly downgraded, have claimed that their home devices reported them to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General (IG) agents.  The veterans are on record reporting that Alexa, Google Home and Siri, all have been recording their private conversations in their homes.

[Berta]

A PC guy this AM on TV was talking about the sales at amazon today and said to check other sights to see if the sales were really money savers- and then in the background his Alexa was checking for deals on line for him.He seemed surprised that this happened while he was on TV. ????

I have Win10 and LOTS of VPN and security stuff on my PC, but when I get a windows download- my  Windows mike goes on and I have to turn it off.

It is separate from my PC camera/mike.

Next time that happens I will say something and see where my voice trail goes.

Beware of those emails that look legit but aren't.

I got a strange " amazon" email the other day and sent a copy of it to their security dept-and they immediately emailed me to thank me, because there are many spoofed amazon emails that people actually click on -they look real but  they are fake.The email said my account had been suspended.

About an hour before that I had made a large purchase at amazon for some landscaping items.I knew it was fake email.

And I finally got a call blocker-for my landline --- what a relief-those robo calls are irritating.

I know a few people who got burned by them.

We all need to be cautious. 

 

[brokensoldier244th]

If he was surprised, as a PC guy, he's not that good. This has been common knowledge for about 4-5 yrs. Prior to that the 'big deal' in security was unencripted WiFi and BT in common devices, and medical. Its been demonstrated at BlackHat that an insulin pump could be accessed wirelessly in public with the right equipment, and the right equipment wasn't much more than a laptop with Linux on it, a portable WIFI hotspot broadcasting a public SSID, and some know-how. That was about 10 yrs ago, though, so medical devices have been hardened since then, or they don't use 2.4/5g wifi but more like RFID. RFID is a lot harder to intercept and crack 'in the air' for most people. I used to have 2 national level security certs when I was an undergrad in the later 2000s- this was the basis of some of my final papers at the time. 

 

 

[Sgt. Wilky]

The booklet on our new Samsung TV states clearly that the tv can listen and record. We live in that age now, where we have to assume everyone, including the electronics are listening. That being said, I agree with others, in the narrow and specific vein of VA issues, cheaters deserve to be busted. BUT the Constitutional processes must be adhered to. Otherwise, for what did we swear and oath to defend and protect?

Sgt. Wilky

[Buck52]

I get these emails

Veteran programs/rumors   ect,,,ect,,,from time to time, I am not saying this happen to me  its just in this email   here is the link as how I got this Information at the bottom of this post (Link)

We have ''Alexa Show''  In the kitchen, Alexa can answer most questions I can ask her  anything basically from sports question to what the weather forecast is for the day  or 3 day outlook  ect,,ect,, or  if I want to know anything about the Civil War Alexa can answer or ask her to play some good old country music Merle Haggard is who I love to listen to  Okie from Muskogee  or Working Man Blues.  WIFE LIKES THE ELEVATOR MUSIC....:(  OR   Oldies Pop Rock  she a 70's girl.

.I have never ask her anything about VA Claims  or the Appeal Process.

I just ask Alexa Questions I need to know  the grandkids can ask about math questions  or anything educational  Alexa is Great Answering  & if she don't know  she says '' sorry I don't know that.''

I had never give it a thought she can pick up on conversations or anything discussed here at home.

http://www.veteranprograms.com/rumors4.html

 

[StanleyHogan]

I just stumbled upon your old post about Alexa reporting home conversations and it caught my attention. I haven't heard any official reports about devices like Alexa, Google Home, or Siri recording private convos and reporting them to the VA Inspector General. But you know, it's always good to be cautious about our privacy! Oh, by the way, have you checked out this article on Multitechverse? They've got interesting insights on tech topics like this. Check it out here: https://multitechverse.com/. Just sharing a good resource.

[broncovet]

Stanley, welcome to hadit.  

I approved your post after going to the link you posted...the first article was "How to cancel a Walmart plus account?"  I could see this could be useful.