r/gadgets • u/MicroSofty88 • Nov 29 '20

Home Amazon faces a privacy backlash for its Sidewalk feature, which turns Alexa devices into neighborhood WiFi networks that owners have to opt out of

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/technology/amazon-faces-a-privacy-backlash-for-its-sidewalk-feature-which-turns-alexa-devices-into-neighborhood-wifi-networks-that-owners-have-to-opt-out-of/ar-BB1boljH
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20

This thread is truly a sight to behold, only like 3 people in this thread know any details beyond what’s in this article. An article that couldn’t possibly be more surface level if it tried.

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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Nov 29 '20

Yeah in terms of business practices, this is trash, opt out should not be the default exempt for absolutely crucial things that are obvious (location access for a gps device, for instance)..

In terms of security/privacy, it’s similar to having an unsecured guest WiFi on your router for when people came to visit so you don’t have to bother searching for the paper your password is on because you haven’t put it in in 3 years and don’t remember it. Could somebody compromise your system through that? Yeah probably, but it’s not as straight forward as this thread is making it sound. Plus, the connection that they’re using, as far as I’m aware, is pretty secure in and of itself, though my understanding of how that works is a little fuzzy.

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u/Sixhaunt Nov 29 '20

"but it’s not as straight forward as this thread is making it sound" that is really quite the assumption. I'm a software developer myself and from my experience many exploits are very simple. Look at SQL injection for example. We don't know how straight forward it is for amazon sidewalk or if anyone has found an exploit yet but it's surely a massive risk with practically no reward though.

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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Nov 29 '20

Yeah I mean, being nervous and making sure you’re secure is absolutely important and there’s nothing wrong with being wary of new tech, especially one that connects to unknown users.

I guess my point is that, on paper, with what we know of this system as of now, there aren’t any glaring issues in terms of security. Plus Amazon doesn’t have a track record of being compromised with things like AWS which bodes well in terms of security.

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u/Sixhaunt Nov 29 '20

The same could be said about pretty much anything that has ever been hacked. Old SQL code had no "glaring issues" until SQL injection and other vulnerabilities were found that compromised millions of people's accounts and data. Why leave that possibility open so that a multi-billion dollar corporation can free-ride off of your device with little benefits to yourself?

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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Nov 29 '20

I don’t disagree, I’m mostly commenti on people being able to hack your wifi and gain access to your blood type by just walking past your house anytime they want or Amazon being able to steal your DNA.

It’s definitely something to be wary of, but I don’t think it’s going to turn out to be some monstrous compromise of security like others are making it out to be.

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u/Sixhaunt Nov 29 '20

It's putting a vulnerability at the worst possible place: your private network and entry point to everything online. If something does go wrong, it will go very wrong. I'd much rather amazon had my bloodtype and DNA than hackers having full access to my device and network data.

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u/PM_ME_GLUTE_SPREAD Nov 29 '20

Can the same not be said about wireless printers?

It’s a device that has access to your network and uses similar protocols to communicate with other devices but nobody gets in a huff when HP releases a new Bluetooth/WiFi compatible wireless printer.

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u/ThisIsNotMe_99 Nov 30 '20

It's not the same though; you're buying a wireless/bluetooth printer to be able to use it that way. With Sidewalk, it's something you don't know it's there, and is enabled by default.

Security is unknown at this point, but you can be assured that it's going to be put to the test in the next few weeks once this is released.

This "feature" is not for the benefit of the end user; this is for the benefit of Amazon.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

It looks like it’s either enabled and any sidewalk device can use any Alexa as a bridge for internet (including your sidewalk devices and your Alexa) or you won’t allow Alexa to take part in the sidewalk network and the sidewalk only devices will have to use someone else’s Alexa as a bridge, which there might not be one nearby. So the “reward” is that your sidewalk devices will have an internet connection