Smart home appliances become a dark area of ​​security issues. Amazon Echo hacking once again rings the alarm bell for the industry

Amazon has slammed the brakes on the global smart speaker industry.

Recently, British security researchers discovered that Amazon's smart speaker Echo is at risk of being hacked. Hackers can install malware on Echo and send voice commands on the device to the server, causing user privacy leaks.

The Echo incident put the brakes on the "blowout" development of smart speakers

The popularity of smart speakers is obvious to all. In particular, in the past period of time, the development of the smart home appliance industry represented by smart speakers has exploded from abroad to China. It seems that overnight, the Chinese market has ushered in a wave of smart home appliances and artificial intelligence voice technology.

According to statistics from Statista, a relevant research institution, the scale of the global smart home appliance market reached 16.8 billion US dollars in 2016. Moreover, with the maturity of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, the explosion of smart home appliances can be expected soon.

In this situation, not only Apple, Google and Amazon are working on smart speakers, but also Chinese companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Himalaya and Kugou have joined the battle. However, with the exposure of the Echo hacking incident, it has indeed cast a shadow on this industry.

When will the industry dilemma of “the smarter, the less safe” be broken?

But we have to be vigilant. Although voice assistants such as Echo and Home bring us intuitive interactive experience, they also pose hidden dangers to consumers' privacy in daily life.

This privacy and security risk is not unique to smart speakers. It can be said that so far, most smart home appliances are also facing this problem to a greater or lesser extent.

As early as 2016, the issue of Samsung and LG smart TVs collecting user information had already attracted widespread media attention. At that time, many users of Samsung and LG smart TVs accidentally discovered that their viewing habits were collected without their permission, and this was after they had turned off the relevant functions.

In fact, it is not limited to televisions. Many home appliances that also have Internet and voice control functions have hidden dangers to varying degrees.

According to a previous CCTV report, the previously popular smart cameras on the market have now become the main tool for hackers to infringe on the privacy and even security of users. According to the police report, this first smart camera hacking crime case in the country was successfully solved in 19 days, and 24 people involved in the case were arrested.

As for the reason, it is easy to understand. It is mainly because there is no industry standard for smart home appliances at this stage, and the specifications are also varied. It is precisely because of this that the level of smart home appliances is uneven and the industry is in chaos. Perhaps, a proper cooling down of the smart home appliance industry will be more conducive to the healthy development of the industry as a whole.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.