Smart speakers could be listening in on government secrets, UK civil servants warned

Accidental activation of the voice assistants could lead to confidential information being stored or shared

(Reuters)

Civil servants working from home during the coronavirus pandemic have been warned to disable their smart speakers.

Devices including the Amazon Echo or Google Home speakers are reportedly a security risk

These devices constantly listen for their trigger word, such as “Alexa”, “Hey Google”, or “Hey Siri”, before listening actively for commands.

However, these devices have been found to occasionally activate without the wake word.

Last year, an Alexa device even managed to record a private conversation and send it to another user without anyone’s knowledge.

At the time, Amazon said the reason was a series of statements its voice assistant mistook for commands.

“I was effectively told to put mine in the bin,” one civil servant reportedly told Business Insider.

“It's common guidance to turn off your Alexa or Siri. I don't recall if it's ever been compulsory, but certainly longstanding,” another said.

A study has suggested that smart speakers could be activated as many as 19 times per day.

“All departments have robust processes in place to ensure communication around government business is secure,” a government spokesperson told The Independent.

"Civil servants also receive guidance to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for any home working."

As many people are working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, concerns have been raised that these domestic devices could be a security issue.

“We have built privacy and security deeply into the Alexa service and our devices are designed to wake up only after detecting your chosen wake word. Anytime your Echo device detects the wake word, a visual or audible indicator will signal it is recording your request and customers can review and delete their voice recordings at any time," an Amazon spokesperson told The Independent.

"Our Echo devices are also equipped with a button to turn the microphone off. All voice recordings streamed to the cloud are encrypted and securely stored on our servers”

The news also comes as the UK government is taking decisions based on how big technology companies could access private information.

Chinese company Huawei has been banned from the UK’s 5G network. Downing Street said the decision was due to US sanctions imposed by Donald Trump.

Mr Trump’s sanctions are due to the belief the company is controlled by the Chinese military and would be a national security concern. Huawei has denied such allegations.

The Trump administration is also considering similar action against TikTok, another Chinese app, because of how data might be handled between American users and the Chinese government.