Page 28 - Cyber Warnings

AMAZONS ECHO MAY BE SENDING ITS SOUND WAVES INTO THE

COURT ROOM AS OUR FIRST SMART WITNESS

Cyber-Space and Technology Attorney, Andrew Rossow, discusses the current law
enforcement investigation involving the murder of Victor Collins, back on November 22,
2015, and a potential smart witness, which just so happens to be Amazon s Echo smart
device.

By Andrew L. Rossow, Esq., Cyberspace Attorney, Gregory M. Gantt Co. L.P.A.

“Hey Alexa, will anything I say to you be used against me in a court of law?”
“I’m sorry, I cannot answer that question at this time”

Today, consumers are engulfed in the world of smart devices. As of the 2016 holidays, the most
purchased gift for the season was Amazon’s Echo, a smart-device that the consumer can speak
to back and forth to control other smart devices, stream music and audio, and receive updates
on news, sports, and weather .

But, what happens when that smart device has the potential to be used against you in
court….for EVERYTHING you say and EVERYTHING it hears? Welcome to the a new age of
rules and policy that the courts and rules of evidence will soon have to address…a lot sooner
than you think by the look of things.

A. WHAT IN CYBERSPACE IS “ALEXA”?

Amazon’s Echo , dubbed “Alexa” out of three possible names (Amazon, Echo, Alexa), is a
cylindrical, spherical (Echo and Dot) smart voice-enabled speaker that allows for a user to
connect wireless and Bluetooth devices to it; receive news and weather updates; stream music
and video libraries; and connect to third party services such as Calendars and e-mail providers.
The device is equipped with seven microphones and responds to a wake word—Alexa or Echo,
most commonly. When it detects its wake word, it begins streaming/recording audio to the cloud
.

Amazon has found itself at the heart of a murder investigation, dating back to the night of
November 22, 2015. James Bates called Arkansas police that night stating him and a few work
buddies, including the victim, Victor Collins, had stayed up the night before watching football
with some drinks. Mr. Bates told authorities that he had let two of them stay at his place to crash
and after waking up the next morning, found Collins’ lifeless body in his hot tub. After further
investigation, police suspected foul play after finding broken bottles and blood spots around the
hot tub. Inside the house, authorities found a plethora of smart home devices including a Nest
thermometer, a Honeywell alarm system, and an Amazon Echo. Upon this finding, police
believe there could be some pertinent information on Amazon’s servers, in the event one of the
individual’s that night inadvertently woke Alexa up and it recorded conversation(s). The
28 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine January 2017 Edition
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