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It seemed like a great idea at first. You could go virtually anywhere that requires you to pay a price — from your grocery store to a concert hall — and instead of packing a wallet or even a bulky smartphone, a simple show of your palm over a scanning device could serve as payment. This is Amazon’s new vision of a card-less and cash-less world. But there’s more to it. This is the scary reason Amazon’s latest update is a security nightmare, according to experts.
Amazon One is a new palm-scanning system that is currently available in two Go stores in Seattle. Considering Amazon’s massive reach, it’s no shock to learn that their plan likely includes expanding Amazon One into venues across the country. After scanning your palm the store would take note of the products you pick up and then charge the credit card associated with your hand. Whether you think this is innovative and cool or a scary overreach, privacy experts have raised a red flag about it.
In a nutshell, when companies have data on you, there is always the possibility of that data being misused, according to Mike Philbert, Co-Founder of The Advisory Network.
“Small amounts of seemingly irrelevant data can lead to critical impact when aggregated,” Philbert says. “Voice recognition collected through Alexa devices, finger/hand print data, single sign on authentication, and many other pieces of information gathered can lead to significant compromise through misuse or mismanagement.”
Convenience often comes with a price.
“Every time we relinquish more of our PII to unlock another level of convenience we hand over more control of our identity,” Philbert says. “Companies like Amazon and Google are becoming powerhouse of data points which enable the prediction of human habits and behavior like a computer program. Projects like Lifenauts aim to allow the creation of AI versions of people using information accessible on social media platforms and other data sources which collect Psychographic data. In the era of fake news, deep fakes, and internet based crime, people should be cautious of what information we sacrifice for convenience.”
Before you try Amazon One, Philbert cautions users to explore what options they have to recall all traces of their data from these system. The truth is it’s much simpler to change info you input than it is information encoded your body.
“If biometric data is every compromised you cannot change it like a password,” Philbert says.
