Mobile phones and Siri-style assistants a growing threat to online security

Krusty · Dec 20, 2017

In Hollywood movies, all it takes to track a villain is a laptop and a GPS scanner.

But as mobile phones become more sophisticated, the gap between fantasy and reality is narrowing.

"In terms of where you've been and what you're doing, everyone is being monitored basically all the time," Edith Cowan University lecturer Peter Hannay said.

"To try and improve the locational functionality [of a device], this data's being collected and analysed all the time by a wide number of actors, whether they're the companies manufacturing the devices or people trying to sell data or just interested people that are having a look."

Location services rely on mobile phones constantly sending out signals to check for wi-fi networks, phone towers and other devices.

"They're constantly sending out these beacons asking for more information," Dr Hannay said.

"Within a few seconds of somebody being nearby ... you can figure out where they work, where they live, how they travel between these locations.

"Essentially, anyone who's listening with the right equipment and the right skills can learn a lot about you as you stroll past on the street or in your car."
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-...ose-growing-threat-to-online-security/9274304

RockLobster · Dec 21, 2017

So when you know the cops are after you, mail your phone to timbuktoo

Krusty · Dec 21, 2017

Stop swearing at Siri — it matters how you talk to your digital assistants

They hear you when you're sleeping, and they know when you're awake. They know when you've been bad or good so…

Be good to your digital assistant, for goodness sake.
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If you are hoping Santa will bring you a smart speaker this Christmas, before you unbox it and start firing off your burning questions, consider this:

Research shows as much as half of all human-computer interactions are abusive — we swear at them, call them names and ask them crude questions.

In fact, US researcher Sheryl Brahnam wrote back in 2005 that even the earliest digital assistants brought out "the dark side of human behaviour".

So why do we do it? Does it really matter? And what does it say about humans? Let's take a look.
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mirimir · Dec 22, 2017

People have been swearing at machines for as long as there have been machines. I mean, we were probably swearing at rocks that didn't flake the right way!

Krusty · Mar 13, 2018

Voice assistants must earn consumers' trust to track them

We're all used to targeted advertisements on the internet. But the introduction of voice assistants like Apple's Siri and Google Assistant mean that companies are capturing all new kinds of data on us, and could build much more detailed "behaviour profiles" with which to target us.
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Are microphones 'always listening'?
Remarkably, many young consumers evidently once believed that their information wasn't being used to target advertising at all. This 2010 study showed that even though young people knew all about tracking and social media, they were still amazed at the thought of their information being used.
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guest · Jun 26, 2018

Consumers don't fully trust digital assistants
June 26, 2018
https://betanews.com/2018/06/26/consumer-digital-assistant-trust/

Given recent scares about digital assistants recording conversations, it's perhaps not surprising that levels of trust in these devices are not high.

The latest State of Digital Lifestyles survey from Limelight Networks reveals that adoption of digital assistants is highest in the US where 35 percent of consumers currently own one, however, these consumers still have major trust issues with the devices.

Security and possible hacking into digital assistants is a concern 43 for percent, and 46 percent express concerns about data privacy. When it comes to performing specific tasks, less than a third (31 percent) would fully trust a digital assistant for home automation and only 35 percent would fully trust them for online shopping. More than half (53 percent) of US consumers would only completely trust digital assistants to provide general information.

Globally just 19 percent of consumers own a digital assistant today and 43 percent have no plans to purchase one of these devices.
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