Amazon's Alexa hears anchorman report story, puts in orders for dollhouses
There is a downside to smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and the Google Home. Since they are made to respond to the spoken word, some times the devices don't take into consideration the source of those words. For example, the other day a 6-year old girl from Dallas named Brooke Neitzel ordered a $162 dollhouse and four pounds of cookies from Alexa by using the Amazon Echo Dot that her parents received for the holidays.
Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher for ESET North America, says eventually these devices will be able to tell voices apart. But for now, he notes that the FTC is investigating voice-controlled technology for safety reasons.
"These devices don’t recognize your specific voice and so then we have the situations where you have a guest staying or you have a child who is talking and accidentally order something because the device isn’t aware that it’s a child versus a parent."-Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher, ESET North America.
By the way, there are safeguards that can be taken. Using the Alexa app, voice purchasing can be disabled, or a confirmation code could be set up. That code would have to be spoken before an order placed through Alexa is confirmed. Even with this protection, if an accidental order gets through, Amazon says that it can be returned for free.
Things that are NOT allowed: