Alexa is useful, fun, and it is overall one of the best additions to smart devices in recent history. Amazon’s Alexa is much smarter than we assume and it is easier to leverage the power of this product than we think. People looking to use their smart devices to their maximum potential will be thrilled to hear this. If you are a power user like this you may be wondering can I listen to and control Alexa fully remotely?
Can you use Alexa to listen remotely? Yes, Alexa lives in the cloud. The echo is the conduit between you and the cloud. You can control any Alexa supported devices remotely when you are away from home. There are various apps and hubs that can control smart devices remotely. If you connect your mobile device with Alexa, your phone will also become an Alexa integrated device and you can start using commands through it.
But the real question is ‘Can I control all Alexa’s functions remotely?’. The answer is NO. Unfortunately only some Alexa tasks and functions are accessible remotely.
As we already know, where there is automation there are attacks. For better security of your smart devices you should follow some precautions. Voice assistants can wake up smart devices and for no reason and if an attacker were to gain access to your voice assistant they could have control over your entire home.
Turning an Echo Into a Spy
In the last couple of years, there have been some security issues with Internet-connected smart devices that can be activated using voice commands. Amazon records voice commands and stores them in the cloud then completes the task.
The security issue here lies with the devices that store the commands. They record voice commands, what we speak at home, and even what we say on the phone. The latest Drop-in feature also allows any random person (with permission) to listen to the person’s Alexa interaction.
Amazon Echo or any other smart speakers have built-in microphones. Some researchers have tested the security level of these devices specifically the Echo.
The researchers looked to see if they could find any vulnerabilities and found that Echo’s mic activates when the wake word is used over the Internet. They didn’t even have to hack anything to get what they were looking for. Using default features that are granted to developers, these researchers were able to gather all the information they were looking for.
After a few challenges, they overcame it. In a study researchers used the most common attack that was used by the hackers. They designed an app that acts as a calculator but also could do a lot behind the lines. They managed to design this app to keep the Echo microphone on even after the command prompt was finished.
To read more about interesting uses and vulnerabilities of the Echo and other Alexa devices check out the famous blog Phys.org. They have an article on how Alexa can do everything from read your alarms to find a cheating spouse, check it out from here.
How do I use Alexa remotely?
Your Alexa device like your Amazon Echo can hear you when you are home but when you are away from home or if you are in another room, then of course the device will have trouble hearing you. Obstacles like walls and any physical barriers bounce back the voice signals and Alexa can’t recognize your voice.
But what if you want to control your Alexa remotely? You can control Alexa remotely using either a remote control or a smartphone app.
Using Mobile app (Alexa and Reverb)
Reverb for Amazon Echo and the Amazon Alexa app are the two apps that can be used to control Alexa remotely. You can make clear commands to your Alexa sitting from where you are.
With these apps you are able to control Alexa without speaking to the physical device. This feature is useful when you are away from home and want to turn off lights or change the room temperature using an Alexa enabled smart thermostat.
Download and Install the ‘Reverb for Amazon Alexa’ from the Play Store and once you open the app you will see a sign-in option. Once you have finished the sign in process, you are ready to use Alexa. You will see a Blue mic on the screen. Give the command while holding it and release to stop. You can also access Reverb from the web so you can control Alexa even when you don’t have your phone.
The Reverb for Amazon Alexa app lets you access Alexa from anywhere. Via Alexa, Reverb answers questions, tracks weather reports, turns on alarms, accesses audiobooks and more. Alexa is also working on adding more features like making animal sounds and other fun Alexa commands.
The second app that allows you to control Alexa remotely is ‘Amazon Alexa” by Amazon. Open the Alexa app on your phone and you will see a blue colored microphone icon on the bottom of the screen. Once Alexa is connected and ready for commands you will see a blue wave that indicates Alexa is listening to you. You can command anything like you do on Echo devices.
You can’t expect to control everything from the apps. For example you cannot set an alarm remotely. However, limited command access is better than nothing and you can enjoy using this set of commands.
Can Alexa be hacked to listen to conversations?
Your Echo device could be secretly recording your conversations and in the worst case they could be used against you. There have been reports of people’s conversations being recorded by an Amazon Echo. In one case Danielle, living with her family, uses Amazon Echo and the Alexa app to operate the devices in her home.
From changing the temperature to turning off the lights. One day she received a call from a person and he said ‘Please unplug your Alexa’. The person was one of her husband’s colleagues.
He said that he had received audio files recorded on the device. Danielle and her husband both were confused about this but they immediately turned off the Alexa. Amazon Alexa Echo recorded conversations in her home and then sent it to a contact on her phone. She complained about this issue and Amazon engineers apologized for this security breach.
Amazon engineers investigated this incident and they said this was an extremely rare occurrence, and Amazon is taking steps to avoid these technical issues. This incident raises privacy issues of voice-assistant devices that we use to communicate and operate the smart devices in our homes. These devices are smart, but have some security concerns, and incidents like these highlight those concerns.
A security officer ‘Mark Barnes‘ claimed that he could hack Amazon Echos and stream live microphone audio to control other devices in any home making an Echo into a completely remote listening device.
Basically, Alexa is programmed to listen to certain words and it saves those commands. But the developers programmed the app to translate any word. When the device is on, developers designed it to alert you with words about the working conditions but the researchers have managed to change these custom words to empty words. As a result, there would be silence even if your device is alerting you.
Does it make Eavesdropping easy?
Alexa voice assistant feature can order a pizza for you and it can play some music. Feature of Alexa can let you talk with other Alexa users easily. If you are not aware, they may listen to your recordings or voice without your knowledge.
The latest feature, ‘Drop-in’ makes instant communication between Echo devices possible. This is typically used when talking with family or friends who have given you permission to speak with them when you want.
What goes wrong is when you receive the request from the Alexa user for some permissions and accidentally accept it, you both have communication enabled. But if you forget to turn off the Drop-in feature and another user is still on the device, they can listen to you.
They can also command the device to turn on or turn off. If you have this device in your house and forget to turn off the Drop-in feature, your conversations can be listened to easily. This other user can easily turn off their mic on their device and listen to you silently without your knowledge. You have to give permission to use the drop-in feature, but it doesn’t need permission to activate the device after that.
Amazon says that the Drop-in feature is set to turn off the Drop-in feature automatically but it is also known that users can mute the drop-in feature from Alexa to turn on the Do not disturb mode accidentally. You have to be conscious and make sure you are aware of your settings and permissions.
It would be the worst feeling if your security cameras or Alexa device start talking with an anonymous voice.
Can Alexa Listen for Intruders?
Yes, Amazon recently rolled out the Alexa Guard that enables Echo speakers to listen for intruders or any other suspicious activities then alert the users. Alexa now can listen for strange sounds like breaking glass or fire. When you are away from home, Alexa Guard will be in active mode with the word ‘Alexa, I’m leaving’.
