Tips from the NSA for using Alexa and staying private
This is something that always arouses concern: do we spy on the speakers smartphones and similar devices? Can you hear everything we talk? The truth is that they do have the ability to listen to what we are talking about, since in the end that is their function. You will be able to give an order to turn on an appliance, turn off a light or tell you what the temperature is.
The problem comes when one of these devices has a vulnerability. That can make them clearly expose our privacy. From the NSA they launch a couple of recommendations to take into account to reduce the risk and that we do not have privacy problems when using voice assistants.
The first advice they give from the NSA is that let’s limit confidential conversations near these devices. They basically mean that you don’t speak anything that is really important next to a speaker with Alexa or any other voice assistant. This will limit the risk you may have.
They also recommend mute the microphone when we are not going to use these devices. Many models feature a button and make it very easy to hit the mute so they don’t work. You will not be able to command the smart speaker, of course. To start using it again, you will have to press the button again to activate it.
As you can see, these are the two recommendations that the NSA gives for those who have a smart speaker with Alexa or any other voice assistant. They are two simple tips, one of them is simply to turn off the microphone, while the other is not to have an important telephone conversation next to the speaker, for example.
Additional recommendations for using home automation devices
But beyond these two specific tips from the NSA for using smart speakers, we are going to give some general recommendations that you can apply to any equipment you use on a daily basis. This can also be applied to surveillance cameras, televisions, etc.
Something fundamental is to have the devices correctly updated. That will help you avoid many problems. Sometimes vulnerabilities arise that can put your security at risk. It is necessary to take measures to correct these failures and something that cannot be missing is to update the firmware and any program that you use on those devices.
It’s also a good idea to check the setting. You will find some aspects related to security and privacy. You have as an example what we have seen of the NSA recommendations to use smart speakers, such as turning off the microphone so that they cannot hear us.
As you can see, maintaining privacy when using devices connected to the network is important. You can take into account some basic tips such as turning off the microphone of smart speakers or avoiding private conversations near them, as recommended by the NSA. Just as you can isolate the browser, you can isolate these widgets.
