Amazon Key’s Camera Can Be Disabled by a Third Party

Thuy Ong, writing for The Verge:

Now security researchers have found that the camera can be disabled and frozen from a program run from any computer within Wi-Fi range, reports Wired. That means a customer watching a delivery will only see a closed door, even if someone opens the door and goes inside — a vulnerability that may allow rogue couriers to rob customers’ homes.

This is exactly why I wouldn’t want to sign up for Amazon Key. While I understand that Amazon will try to make everything as secure as possible, everything can be hacked.

Amazon’s team clarified how they verify their drivers:

Every delivery driver passes a comprehensive background check that is verified by Amazon before they can make in-home deliveries, every delivery is connected to a specific driver, and before we unlock the door for a delivery, Amazon verifies that the correct driver is at the right address, at the intended time.

We have had multiple examples of insufficient background checks in law enforcement circles over the past few years and I seriously doubt Amazon can do better. Someone will always slip through the cracks. And that’s just the people behind the whole operation — the system can still be hacked.