Dick Morrell: Amazon Users Advised to Reset Passwords Amid Echo Privacy Concerns (opens in new tab)

If the vulnerability can't be revealed for "ethical" reasons, that implies it's ongoing... so what would a reset do? Wouldn't the newly reset credentials be just as vulnerable until fixed?

Dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35710854

Dick Morrell urgently advising Amazon users to sign out of all devices, reset their passwords, and delete 2FA tokens due to an unspecified security issue. The issue appears to be related to Amazon Echo devices, which have been accused of scanning users' Wi-Fi networks and sending detailed profiles of network equipment back to Amazon. The code for this functionality is allegedly contributed by the US National Security Agency, raising concerns about privacy and unauthorized surveillance. Users are encouraged to take immediate action to protect their accounts and devices, as the full extent of this security problem is still unclear.

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Who is Dick Morrell? This Twitter thread seems discombobulated, although I admit I am quite tired at the moment. Does this only apply to people who use Echo? Is it all Amazon users? Why does deleting 2FA help? Is Amazon storing passwords in clear text?

He doesn't say the issue is limited to Echo devices.

Yes, Echos are scanning wifi and phoning home details you didn't authorize, which is a bad thing but not the issue here.

Morrell says the issue is with all retail Amazon accounts (possibly not AWS-only accounts.)