Amazon Key Camera Already Hacked
The day that the Amazon Key was all over the news we, as home and business security experts, had a few instant red flags that we proposed as potential areas of true concern. Well, as it turns out, the Amazon Key has already been hacked.
One of the concerns we had in our post entitled "The Big Security Questions of Amazon Key" was the cloud-based security cameras and functionality. And, again, as it turns out, this is actually the big problem area. Namely, from Wired, according to research conducted at Rhino Security Labs, it is possible for someone who is within the Wi-Fi range of the cameras to hack into it and send commands which then knock it offline. If you are thinking that as the consumer you'd know it was offline, think again.
When the cloud-based camera is knocked offline it only shows the last frame in a frozen state so the area of view still looks as it did right before it was downed. Therefore, while the camera is showing you what appears to be a live scene that is actually a freeze-frame, whoever opened your door after it was knocked offline isn't seen at all. And, since you have to have your home security system disabled while using the Amazon Key, the invader could be having their way with everything in your home.
Technologyreview.com made an interesting point that because the Amazon Key only allows "authorized staff" to open the smart lock, as we covered in our last post on the subject, that it would have to be a rogue employee who did it. Or, does it? If someone is stalking your home and hacking into your Amazon Key, would it really have to be a rogue delivery employee or could it be someone who only knows you have the Amazon Key and has intercepted the delivery person for their access? When you think of a criminal determined to break and enter, would the obstacle of the delivery person really be that much of an obstacle? Food for thought.
However, Amazon has been made aware of the glitch and they are updating the software so that consumers are alerted if the camera goes offline during a delivery. This certainly does not prevent a break in from occurring, but at least you know the camera isn't working.
As technologyreview.com states in their article, "With Key, there is a very clear trade-off. You can have convenience, or you can maintain the security and privacy that your regular front door affords. You simply cannot have both."
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