Towards Flexible Voice Assistants: Evaluating Privacy and Security Needs in IoT-enabled Smart Homes

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a fast-growing technology, especially for its application in smart homes. Through voice assistants, the user is provided with the ability to interact with devices without physical interaction, especially remotely. An issue that should not be underestimated is privacy and security, given that anything connected to the Internet is vulnerable. In addition to focusing on the risks of remote attacks, local risks must also be considered. Hence, access mechanisms are needed to limit the execution of critical functionality to only specific users. Since voice assistants on the market do not implement such functionality, adopting a voice assistant that provides maximum flexibility in adding new functionality arises. This paper discusses the feasibility and effectiveness of using the open-source Leon voice assistant to manage various home automation devices. Leveraging the unique flexibility offered by its open-source nature, we introduce and develop enhanced features to improve privacy and security measures within the smart home environment. Moreover, we perform an in-depth case study involving the integration of the Leon Voice Assistant with Home Assistant, specifically focusing on the control of smart bulbs. We developed a 'lights' module within the 'home assistant' package using the API provided by Home Assistant.