IBM Bans Siri on Its Corporate Network over Privacy Concerns

IBM has decided to block Apple's Siri on its corporate network over concerns that the sassy virtual assistant cannot be trusted to keep its mouth shut. IBM has a strong BYOD (bring your own device) policy, but Siri has raised a few concerns when it comes to corporate security.

IBM worries that Siri, the voice-operated assistant currently exclusive to the iPhone 4S, could grant Apple access to its customers' queries and potentially disclose industrial secrets. The company is "extraordinarily conservative," IBM chief information officer Jeanette Horan told MIT's Technology Review. "The company worries that the spoken queries might be stored somewhere."

Why It Makes Sense

When speaking to Siri, Apple's data centers receive what you say in order to process it, translate it and return the results back to the iPhone in a few seconds. Apple's license agreement dictating the terms of the data Siri uploads doesn't mention who can access the data, how long does it store it for, or whether staff is actively accessing it.

"When you use Siri or Dictation, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple in order to convert what you say into text and, for Siri, to also process your requests," reads Apple's iOS software license agreement. "By using Siri or Dictation, you agree and consent to Apple's and its subsidiaries' and agents' transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri, Dictation, and other Apple products and services."

Privacy Risks

IBM is not willing to take any chances, not when it comes to corporate security. Siri is just the newest addition on the company's "blacklist," as IBM also blocks Dropbox and other such cloud services. If employees used Siri and the Dictation feature to write emails, text messages, or store other information, that data would be uploaded to Apple before being returned to the iPhone, and for IBM this is not desirable at all.

And IBM is not the only one worried about Siri's loose lips. Just a couple of months ago, the American Civil Liberties Union put out a warning about Siri, over concerns that some of the data Siri collects can be extremely personal, notes CNN. Until Apple clearly details what happens to users' data once Siri collects it, users may want to think twice what secrets they share with the intelligent virtual assistant.