Have you heard? Amazon’s Alexa Guard is finally a reality. How? Through a simple message. If you own an Alexa speaker, you can now tell Alexa that you’re leaving with a simple “I’m leaving,” and the device will alert you if it hears glass breaking or a CO2 or smoke alarm.
You can also now use the device to use a lighting feature that makes it seem like you are home. Through machine learning, Alexa Guard can turn lights on or off based on its understanding of the homeowner’s behavior. And you can integrate the device with an ADT alarm system to provide real-time alerts. Amazingly, you can even use your voice through the device to arm or disarm ADT Control or Pulse and Amazon Ring systems.
This should be no surprise since, according to recent estimates, up to 28% of U.S. broadband households with a smart speaker use the voice assistant to control a home device. Voice-based technologies have seen a massive level of growth in the past five years. Thus, integration into home security systems was only a matter of time.
No Device is Perfect
Of course, it is important to note that an Amazon Echo device should never replace a comprehensive security or camera system. If an intruder knows how to be stealthy or extra quiet or doesn’t get in through breaking glass. If anything, this new development proves how the long march of technology continues to reshape everything from how we do business to how we secure our homes.
There are downsides to using smart speakers in this manner. Many find the privacy concerns inherent within smart speaker usage to be unacceptable. Yet, the most smart speakers can be set up so that they only record audio when a keyword is used. Programming for a keyword provides a critical way to detect any number of unusual audio cues depending on the situation.
Another consideration is the WiFi network used to connect to the smart speaker. Wireless alarm systems have their own deficiencies related to hacking. Be sure to always used a WPA2 encrypted network and never leave an open hot spot at home. When it comes to guests and IoT devices, be sure to create a guest connection.
Yet, another concern lies in whether smart speakers can be hacked or not. Researchers believe that cyber-criminals may be able to hack into smart speakers. Considering up to 32 million people in the United States already own smart speakers, these questions are critical.