Disable this technology: Amazon started sharing your internet connection with the neighbours.

[Caute_cautim]

Hi All

Once again a great piece of technology and suddenly it is being abused, without the owner realising it:

https://www.komando.com/kims-column/amazon-just-started-sharing-your-internet-connection-with-your-n...

What did the sales person say, it is perfectly safe - until another feature is enabled or you did your last update?

Regards

Caute_cautim

[JKWiniger]

@Caute_cautim I cannot recall the exact fact I want to mention but I seem to remember something about if the person next door taps into your wifi the ISP could actually have legal recourse and it make me wonder if the same thing might apply here. If tons of people access sidewalk then there is a higher load on the ISP to the benefit of Amazon without any compensation to the ISPs. I don't think anything ever became of it but just something I was reminded of.

John-

[Catharine]

Think of this as a smart Sidewalk-enabled neighborhood, borrowing bandwidth from you and your neighbors. The more households that join this network, the bigger it gets.

We want better Wi-Fi, and it's annoying when our connected devices don't work. You don't want your outdoor lights, motion sensors or security cameras going offline.

But at what cost? The first question is just how much of your bandwidth Sidewalk uses. Amazon says the total monthly data is capped at 500MB per account or the rough equivalent of streaming 10 minutes of HD video.

[ericgeater]

I listen to Steve Gibson on Security Now, and his December 8 podcast was somewhat impressed with the tech involved.  He did an exposition using the Amazon Sidewalk Privacy and Security Whitepaper (found at hxxps://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/sidewalk/final_privacy_security_whitepaper.pdf, take out the x's), and if you listen to Steve you're already aware he's a cautious chap.

That being said, there's not a single reason why I need or would benefit from Amazon's fleet of IoT devices.  Having an enmeshed, relatively secure network of Amazon devices doesn't change my dismal opinion about the individual Amazon devices themselves (camera doorbells, smart speakers, towel dryers, hair magnets, smart doorstops, self-writing whiteboards... whatever).