Amazon Gives Access to Alexa Recordings to a Wrong User
| Amazon Gives Access to Alexa Recordings to a Wrong User | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | Amazon Gives Access to Alexa Recordings by Mistake |
| Location | Germany |
| Date | late 2018 |
| Solove Harm | Insecurity, Identification |
| Information | Communication, Identifying |
| Threat Actors | Amazon |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | One user of Alexa |
| High Risk Groups | |
| Tangible Harms | |
A user of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant got access to audio recordings of another user sent to him by Amazon by mistake.
Description
In late 2018 Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant mistakenly leaked 1700 recordings of a user to another user in Germany. The customer asked the company to give him access to his recordings made by Alexa, but also got access to audio files of another user by mistake. This is an example of Insecurity.
The recordings were of a man and a woman at home. The German tech publisher was able to identify the man through the information in the audio files and then contact him. Identification
Amazon commented, that is was a human error and an isolated single case, which they resolved.
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/technology/alexa-jamming-bracelet-privacy-armor.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-data-security/amazon-error-allowed-alexa-user-to-eavesdrop-on-another-home-idUSKCN1OJ15J