Smart Homes

Hackers can remotely tap into the Nexx brand of smart garage door opener controllers and open them across the world by targeting them on the internet, a security researcher says.

According to a recent report, Amazon is aware that many owners of its Alexa devices are not using them after as little as two weeks of use. According to internal documents viewed by Bloomberg, as many as 25 percent of Amazon’s smart home assistants become expensive paperweights just weeks after being activated.

An unknown party recently hacked at least 700 smart home devices across South Korea and sold explicit images and videos accessed through the devices on the dark web, South Korea’s National Police confirmed Monday when announcing a criminal investigation into the incident.

A recent article from the Atlantic outlines how the name Alexa has become so synonymous with Amazon’s personal assistant that the number of children being named Alexa is plummeting.

E-commerce giant Amazon is facing a privacy backlash over its new “Sidewalk” feature which joins together Alexa-powered smart devices within your home with those belonging to neighbors. The company claims the “shared network” will help “devices work better.” One cybersecurity expert called Amazon’s new service “deeply problematic from a privacy perspective,” noting that “No one rides on my WiFi for free, especially a giant corporation with billions of dollars.”

A recent report states that a number of “smart” doorbells featuring microphones and cameras sold on Amazon and eBay come stocked with a number of security vulnerabilities.

350,000 Amazon Ring smart doorbells manufactured in China have been recalled after reports of multiple doorbells catching fire, resulting in eight people suffering burns.

According to a recent report from the FTC, “smart locks” produced by Tapplock are leaking users’ personal information and not delivered the security they promise.

Speaker manufacturer Sonos has reportedly sued tech giant Google over the alleged theft of smart speaker technology. According to Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, “Despite our repeated and extensive efforts over the last few years, Google has not shown any willingness to work with us on a mutually beneficial solution. We’re left with no choice but to litigate.”

Silicon Valley tech giant Google has suspended the integration of some of its hardware and services with Chinese company Xiaomi after a user who connected a Xiaomi camera to his Google Home Hub revealed that he was able to see into other users’ homes, including sleeping children.

The editor of the Mozilla Foundation’s Internet Health Report recently published a blog post on the website of the UK consumer association Which? that questions how privacy-focused the smart devices being pushed by the Masters of the Universe are.

A majority of smart speaker owners in the United States are concerned about privacy and their devices’ ability to collect personal data, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.

A new report from security researchers alleges that Amazon Ring doorbells have exposed users’ home Wi-Fi passwords to hackers.

A Chinese startup company has reportedly developed a smart toilet that can digitally analyze human excrement.

Recent reports claim that Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart speakers can be targeted by malicious apps that use the devices to listen in on users and steal passwords.

Google devices chief Rick Osterloh admitted during a recent interview that he would disclose to guests entering his home that smart speakers are present, showing that the Masters of the Universe recognize just how invasive their technology actually is.

The Gary Sinise Foundation announced Wednesday that it plans to build smart homes for two police officers shot in the line of duty. 

Google says it has temporarily stopped its contractors from listening to Assistant audio recordings around the world. The move arrives shortly after the tech giant learned of a data leak from a media outlet in the Netherlands, which revealed that Google Assistant had been recording users without their prior knowledge.

According to a recent report, Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei and Silicon Valley giant Google were working together on a new home smart device before the government placed restrictions on doing business with Huawei.

A new report claims that Silicon Valley tech giant Google has been employing outside contractors to listen in on the voice recordings of its Google Assistant users without their knowledge.

Two security researchers announced on Tuesday that they were able to hack into a popular smart home security device after discovering a series of flaws that would allow a tech-savvy intruder to unlock a front door. The researchers revealed their findings only after the security flaws had been fixed, but the company has reportedly since discontinued the device in favor of a newer product.

A Chinese smart home equipment manufacturer recently faced a data breach which left 2 billion user logs vulnerable to hackers. The database included personally identifiable information from customers around the world including the United States.