Amazon can now deliver packages inside your garage, but Toronto tech expert questions how secure it is  – NOW Toronto

Amazon has launched a tech-savvy way to protect your packages from theft, but a Toronto tech expert warns about the impacts of incorporating cyber technology in everyday life.

The e-commerce giant recently announced its latest service, Amazon Key In-Garage Delivery. Available to Prime members in Canada, consumers now have the option to receive Amazon packages delivered to the inside of their home garages. 

The service aims to provide “convenience” and “security” by helping to protect orders against weather damage, ensuring expensive or fragile orders are kept safe, and also offering the ability to receive Amazon packages, whether the purchaser is at home or away. It will also help deter porch piracy, a growing phenomenon concerning many Canadians. 

In a 2023 survey conducted by shipping company FedEx Express Canada, 28 per cent of online shoppers had their packages stolen in the past, a steady increase from 24 per cent in 2022 and 20 per cent in 2021. 

The survey also found that 70 per cent of online shoppers were at least somewhat worried about package theft. 

Through this service, with the collaboration of Amazon Key and Chamberlain Group’s myQ Smart Garage technologies, delivery drivers will be able to enter members’ garages through a temporary, one-time access code. If homeowners don’t already have a Smart garage, myQ Smart Garage Control is available for purchase on Amazon starting at around $30, which can be easily installed and will give customers complete control of their garage door from virtually anywhere through their phone.

While the ability to take control of your deliveries into your own hands sounds admirable, a Toronto-based cybersecurity expert has concerns about the way humans have begun to integrate app technology into every aspect of daily life. 

Associate Dean at Humber College Francis Syms says while these kinds of services definitely have their benefits in combating theft, the technology used is susceptible to hackers and cyber attacks. 

“It’s great and highly convenient. We talk about porch pirates, robbers that are stealing boxes that are shipped to our steps all the time,” Syms said to Now Toronto on Wednesday. 

“But the problem is, who’s going to have access to those delivery drivers? How secure is it? You could argue that Amazon is probably a very secure, trusted platform. But what happens when you start buying cheaper garage door openers off the internet that might have things like backdoors or zero-day flaws? Because ultimately, every computer that’s shipped has software running on it, and that software can make it potentially vulnerable to an attack.”

Backdoors and zero-day are software loopholes that hackers can use to bypass device encryption. 

Syms worries that consumers have become too compliant with technology. When fobs were invented for drivers to access their cars without keys, he believes people would have resisted if they knew that it would eventually increase the likelihood of vehicles to be stolen. With Amazon In-Garage Delivery, he fears that homeowners are setting themselves up for the same kind of vulnerabilities and could soon start seeing hackers accessing garage doors to steal vehicles. 

“You could see a scenario where, in the future, somebody could drive up to your house, remotely open that garage door and then steal your car. They do it from their phone, because they can press a button and it opens. Then they can copy the fob on your car and just drive it away, right as they do now,” he said. 

“I think what we do in these situations is we sacrifice security for convenience, and it may be a deal that we’re willing to make. At this point in time, in part because we don’t really understand what the security implications are.” 

Syms says he’s concerned about the constant desire to connect to technology, and warns that cyber attacks will begin to worsen without weighing risks of integration. 

“I’m concerned about our willingness to connect everything together,” he said. 

“We’ve talked about cybersecurity for a long time, but now we’re really talking about the integration between cyber and physical realm, and I think we’re going to see those types of attacks increase.”

Amazon says its aim in offering the service is to empower customers in managing access to their homes and businesses, while also offering a secure and convenient destination for unattended package deliveries.  

“Amazon Key technology puts security, convenience, privacy, and access control in customers’ hands,” the company said in its news release.