SME Times is powered by   
Search News
Just in:   • Adani Group to invest Rs 57,575 crore in Odisha  • 'Dollar Distancing' finally happening? Time for India to pitch Rupee as credible alternative: SBI Ecowrap  • 49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh  • 'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'  • LinkedIn lays off entire global events marketing team: Report 
Last updated: 25 May, 2018  

Amazon.Com.9.Thmb.jpg Amazon's Alexa 'heard and sent private chat'

Amazon.9.jpg
   Top Stories
» 49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh
» 'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'
» Tripura exported over 9K tonnes of pineapples in 2 years
» CPI inflation eases to 6.71% in July, IIP falls to 12.3%
» Rupee depreciates 12 paise to close at 79.64 against US dollar
IANS | 25 May, 2018
A private conversation between a couple in the US was recorded by Alexa and then sent to a random person in their contact list. Tech giant Amazon has offered "a rather convoluted explanation", said the media.

The couple from Portland in Oregon had joked that their Amazon Alexa might be listening in to their private conversations.

Not long after that they discovered a conversation was indeed recorded by the virtual assistant developed by Amazon - and then sent to an apparently random person in their contact list.

"Unplug your Alexa devices right now!" warned the puzzled recipient, according to ABC affiliate station KIRO7.

The couple who did not wish to reveal their full identity spoke to KIRO7 on a first name basis.

Describing the rather alarming chain of events, Danielle said her husband received audio files of recordings from inside their house from a colleague, the BBC reported.

"At first, my husband was, like, 'no you didn't!' And his colleague told him: 'You sat there talking about hardwood floors.' That's when Danielle and her partner realised, "he really did hear us".

Amazon has an explanation as to what happened. "Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like 'Alexa'. Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a 'send message' request.

"At which point, Alexa said out loud 'To whom?' At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customer's contact list."

"Alexa then asked out loud, '(contact name), right?' Alexa then interpreted background conversation as 'right'," an Amazon spokesperson said.

Amazon said: "We are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."

Danielle, however, told ABC that there were no audible warnings from Alexa.
 
Print the Page Add to Favorite
 
Share this on :
 

Please comment on this story:
 
Subject :
Message:
(Maximum 1500 characters)  Characters left 1500
Your name:
 

 
  Customs Exchange Rates
Currency Import Export
US Dollar
66.20
64.50
UK Pound
87.50
84.65
Euro
78.25
75.65
Japanese Yen 58.85 56.85
As on 13 Aug, 2022
  Daily Poll
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations
 Yes
 No
 Can't say
  Commented Stories
» GIC Re's revenue from obligatory cession threatened(1)
 
 
About Us  |   Advertise with Us  
  Useful Links  |   Terms and Conditions  |   Disclaimer  |   Contact Us  
Follow Us : Facebook Twitter