The Weekly Breach Breakdown: Do You Own an Amazon Echo or Ring Doorbell? How to Opt-Out of Amazon Sidewalk

• Amazon recently connected to its new network, “Sidewalk,” leaving some people wondering how to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk. It takes a little piece of people’s network bandwidth, who have either an Amazon Echo or a Ring doorbell connected to their Wi-Fi, and shares it with others who have Amazon devices to create a mesh network.
• While Amazon says the information will not be shared with other devices on the network, it still connected to people’s devices without their permission.
• To opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk on an Amazon speaker, open the Alexa mobile app and go to More > Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk and choose Disable. For Ring doorbell,in the app go to the Control Center > Amazon Sidewalk > Disable > Confirm.
• To learn about recent data breaches, consumers and businesses should visit the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) data breach tracking tool, notified.
• For more information, or if someone believes they are the victim of identity theft, consumers can contact the ITRC toll-free at 888.400.5530 or via live-chat on the company website www.idtheftcenter.org.

Sharing is Not Caring

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for June 11, 2021. Our podcast is possible thanks to support from Experian. Each week, we look at the most recent and interesting events and trends related to data security and privacy. This week, we will talk about how your parents, grandparents and teachers were wrong when you were young – at least when it comes to cybersecurity. We will also discuss how to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk, a new mesh network.

How many times did you hear someone tell you that you need to share your toys with your sister or brother? “Share what you have” with your friends probably was thrown in there, too – along with this chestnut: sharing is caring.

That might be true on the playground when you’re talking about a cup of goldfish crackers. However, in today’s episode, we are talking about privacy and cybersecurity. Sharing is definitely NOT caring, especially when you’re forced to give up a piece of your internet bandwidth to your neighbors.

Amazon’s New Mesh Network “Sidewalk”

We are talking about Amazon’s new mesh network known as “Sidewalk.” Sounds innocent enough, right? It makes you think of walking around your neighborhood waving at your friends sitting on their front porch while you take a stroll with your trusty dog Rex.

Except in this scenario, you have an Amazon Echo smart speaker and a Ring doorbell connected to your Wi-Fi. Rex is wearing a tile smart tag, so you can find him when he runs away to make a deposit on a neighbor’s lawn. All of those Amazon smart devices are now automatically connected to the new Sidewalk network that went live on June 8, without your permission.

What the New Sidewalk Network Does

Right about now, you may be wishing you could trade that glass of lemonade you have been nursing on your walk for something a little stronger because chances are you’ve never heard of Sidewalk. That’s what Amazon calls its new local network that takes a little piece of your network bandwidth, up to 500 MB per month, and shares it with your neighbors who also have Alexa hanging around their houses.

The idea is it boosts Wi-Fi signals in weak areas by pooling the bandwidth of every house that has an Amazon device on a network. This “take a little here and give a little there” approach is known as a mesh network.

What It Means

Amazon hasn’t been shy about touting the benefits of this kind of expanded network. It means when Rex runs away, that tile smart tag you put on his collar can be tracked as long as Rex is near the new neighborhood-wide network. It means a sketchy signal will not prevent your Ring doorbell from showing you that pimply-faced kid who just showed up to take your daughter to the movies. Also, it means you can ask Alexa to tell you a joke in parts of your house where you couldn’t connect until Sidewalk launched.

What it doesn’t mean, according to Amazon, is that Alexa will share your information with the other devices in your neighborhood that are now connected to the wider network. There are also strict limits on how much bandwidth Sidewalk can use per month, so your internet bill doesn’t go through the roof.

While that’s good to know, it doesn’t change the fact that Sidewalk is, like Alexa and Ring, always on and you were not asked if you wanted to join the network.

How Opt-Out of Amazon Sidewalk

Fortunately, there is a way to jump off the Sidewalk by changing the settings on your Amazon devices. Here’s how to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk:

• For the Echo family of speakers, open the Alexa mobile app and go to More > Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk. Choose Disable, and you’re done.
• In the Ring app, go to the Control Center > Amazon Sidewalk > Disable > Confirm.

While you’re busy putting your Wi-Fi back in the house where it belongs, make sure you have a strong password on your home network to keep cybercriminals and your cheapskate neighbor off your network. Sorry, we can’t do anything about the kids or dogs on your lawn.

Contact the ITRC

If anyone has questions about keeping their personal information secure or on how to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk, they can visit www.idtheftcenter.org, where they will find helpful tips. People can also sign-up to receive our regular email updates on identity scams and compromises and download our latest report on how identity crimes impact individuals.

If someone thinks they have been the victim of an identity crime or a data breach and needs help figuring out what to do next, they should contact us. Victims can speak with an expert advisor on the phone, chat live on the web or exchange emails during our normal business hours (6 a.m.-5 p.m. PST).

Thanks to Experian for supporting the ITRC and this podcast. Next week be sure to check out our sister podcast, The Fraudian Slip when we talk with the CEO of LexisNexis Special Services about the role of information in preventing identity crimes. We will be back in two weeks with another episode of the Weekly Breach Breakdown.