Was Amazon’s Echo the Witness of a Murder?

Here’s a case that shows how IoT devices‘ permanent connectivity can be used in a helpful way. Back in 2015, Bentonville Police asked Amazon for audio records of one of its Echo devices – a smart speaker with voice assistant – installed in a smart house where a murder took place. Reading this might remind you of the infamous FBI vs Apple case where the Federal agency battled the American tech giant to crack a terrorist’s iPhone. Today’s story is slightly different, although it’s still questionable how these smart devices become crime witnesses or potential help for authorities, not to mention that the high on-demand privacy policy often act against us.

IOT devices. Friends or foes?

Questioning whether IoT technology is a blessing or a curse is a topic with increasing relevancy. The fact that our homes are turning “smart” and the raising amount of connected devices that will become recurring trends will be commonly debated, but might also help in some cases like this. However, the privacy that we long for has the opposite effect thanks to the companies’ policies regarding data protection. We all remember how controversial the aforementioned FBI vs Apple case was and our murder case would have also turned ugly if Amazon decided not to deliver the requested data. Nonetheless, according to the warrants in question, the police should be able to crack an Echo device open without the company’s permission.
In addition, poor encryption could work in the authority’s favor as well, – despite being a concern to users –since a smart meter for instance allowed the police to notice an “excessive amount of water” at the time of the crime.