As is so often the case, this question about voice assistants can only be answered with one phrase: “It depends”.

As the Federal Office for Information Security explains, it depends on how you set up the voice assistant, how you operate it, where you use it and whether you are talking about data protection or data security.

However, it must be clear in advance that with every new connected object, the attack surface for criminals increases.

How to improve the security of your devices

Everything at the beginning: Even before purchasing, consumers can inform themselves and find out whether security gaps for the desired device are known and have been fixed. When commissioning, there are options to increase the security of your system. Regardless of whether it is a smart speaker or a cell phone, you can adjust the settings according to your wishes right from the start and thus slightly reduce the device's communication with the manufacturer. Speakers or other smart helpers can also be 'locked' into a WLAN.

To do this, you set up your own WiFi network on your home router, to which only voice assistants, intelligent heating controls, lamps or vacuum cleaner robots can connect. In this way, computers, laptops and other devices with sensitive data are separated from your smart home and are therefore less at risk.

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Assistants on mobile devices should generally, for example, B. can be secured with a PIN or a fingerprint. Home devices such as speakers can often block critical commands for purchases or adult content. This means that children, guests or strangers – whether intentional or not – cannot enter unwanted orders.

If you place a digital assistant at a window, you make it much easier for criminals to, for example, open your smart door lock. The networking of the smart helpers with the other intelligent devices in the household makes the voice assistants a hub for your IT security at home. In our further article you will also find a checklist with the help of which the use of digital assistance systems can easily be made much safer.

What happens to my voice input? How do I achieve more data protection?

The providers provide little information about the detailed use of the data obtained and the locations of the company's storage facilities. In addition, the media repeatedly report on customer data that has been used unlawfully or misused for other purposes. Therefore, when using voice assistants, you currently have to assume the worst case scenario and use the device as if you assumed that the provider was accessing the spoken information - or you deactivate the function, for example. B. on your smartphone or smart TV.

Speech recognition systems detect your oral input via an integrated microphone and forward it to cloud-based data centers as quickly as possible via the Internet. There your wish or command is recognized, understood, implemented and the corresponding reaction is sent back to your assistant. The device in your living room then simply outputs the answer or, for example, starts the desired song.

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Most providers do not provide reliable information about encrypted communication, secure servers or responsible handling of user information. While large companies continue to rely on this type of information processing, new solutions are entering the market in which all the data generated is processed and implemented locally on only one device.

In addition to the settings already mentioned, you can easily switch the device off after use. This ensures that intimate conversations are not processed on servers around the world and that only specific commands are recorded.

You might also be interested in: Alexa, Siri & Co: Opportunities and risks of voice assistants

Source: Federal Office for Information Security
Article image: metamorworks / Shutterstock


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