Our vocal cords are now an instrument for the digital age. Our voice is transformed into digital content in two ways. Voice assist that allows you to active a device hands free. And voice security, uses your vocal cords as a unique identifier for a user.
Lets start with voice assist. Simply put it is a hands free device waiting for your next command. These devices can listen carefully and translate your speech into text, assist in turning a device on or off, or taking dictation. It decodes the human voice without having to use a keyboard, mouse, or press any buttons.
As we fill our homes with appliances that are smart/connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth we give ourselves more freedom by providing the ability to control the device with our voice.
Technology has increased the confidence factor in understanding the intent of the request. Smart technology weeds out the ‘ums and hums’ from the dictation or command. Eliminating the unnecessary words, allowing people to speak naturally in a comfortable conversation with a device.
The most interesting and beneficial things about Voice Assist is the ability to be hands-free. We can now turn lights on/off by shouting across the room, instead of walking over to the wall switch. We set kitchen timers with our voice when our hands are messy or full.
Voice assist tools (like Amazon Echo, Google Home Assist, Apple Siri & Comcast TV remote) use a wake word to activate the beginning of a request. A wake word is a word that signals the device become active and is followed with a request. For the Amazon Echo, there are a handful of wake words the factory installs, you pick one during the set up. The most popular is “Alexa.” A typical request may be “Alexa, what time is it?” She will respond with an answer.
These devices are always on, waiting for the wake word. And like any connected device, there are security factors to address. If the device is always listening, the bad guys can also hack into the device and listen, without your knowledge. Similar to a baby monitor.
And if the device controls other home applications is the possible the hacker can gain control and manipulate the gadget.
To continue to protect yourself, always reset the factory passwords in any device. This may not prevent all hacking but make it hard for them to access your personal devices.
If you are wondering what data is stored, Amazon states the only history recorded from the Echo devices are requests and answers provided by Echo. To date, Amazon has stated that they have not released any access of anyone’s Echo activity to the government. Amazon reports it only stores the data accessed by its cloud-based storage system and does not consistently record or listen when not in use. However, in theory, a government agency could request a warrant to listen in even before you use the wake work.
Another use of your voice becoming data is thru biometrics. Biometrics is the means of verifying a personal identity thru physical characteristics, much like a fingerprint or retinal scan, your voice can be used as an identifier.
Voice security systems store your voice print data similar to a fingerprint and can be used to authorize or verify an individual. It is another form personal identify, much like a drivers license. It can distinguish similar voices from one other. Banks have been using voice recognition as a second step validation process for clients over the phone for over a decade.
Today voice assist devices do not use your voice a security mechanism. But they are getting smarting, providing the ability to distinguish between different voices in a household. So that when you ask it to “read my horoscope,” it knows who is asking and reads the correct zodiac sign.
To keep your voice assist devices safe:
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- Know what devices are always on, and always listening.
- Watch what you say around a voice assist device.
- Change all factory passwords on all devices.
- Give each device a unique password.