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- Amazon wants to keep a closer eye on its employees by tracking their keyboard and mouse activities, Vice first reported.
- The company plans to crack down on instances of hacked customer data, which was mentioned in an internal Amazon document.
- Amazon has previously turned to other methods of surveilling its workforce to evaluate performance.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Amazon will closely watch its customer service workers – specifically through their keyboard strokes and mouse movements, according to Vice.
The e-commerce giant plans to implement this oversight technology to prevent rogue workers, impostors, and hackers from accessing confidential customer data, Vice Motherboard's Joseph Cox reported on Thursday.
Amazon's security, finance, and legal teams have apparently agreed to use a behavioral biometric system from cybersecurity company BehavioSec, Vice reported.
According a confidential document obtained and verified by Motherboard, the proposed solution would entail using algorithms to generate a profile of a worker's inherent keyboard and mouse activity. It would then continuously verify the individual's "biometric footprint," making sure that it is in fact the same person using their device at a given time.
For privacy reasons, the system wouldn't record what apps or sites workers type or click on, and it wouldn't monitor worker communications, the report said.
The document also detailed several successful attempts where malicious actors posed as Amazon customer service employees to gain access to privileged customer information, Vice reported.
Decreased security capabilities for Amazon customer service agents working from home because of COVID-19 and more customer service jobs outsourced to foreign countries with less stringent security measures has forced the company to invest in data security measures.
Amazon did not directly comment on the Motherboard report. "Maintaining the security and privacy of customer and employee data is among our highest priorities," Kelly Nantel, National Media Relations Director at Amazon, told Insider.
Amazon has resorted to similar surveillance techniques to see a closer eye on its operations. Earlier this year, the company told their delivery drivers to sign over "biometric consent" so they could be monitored. They installed AI-cameras in its driver's vans that would monitor and score driver's performance while on the job - forcing some workers to find ways to work around being monitored.
"While we do not share details on the technologies we use, we continually explore and test new ways to safeguard customer-related data while also respecting the privacy of our employees," Nantel added. "And we do this while also remaining compliant with applicable privacy laws and regulations."