Increasing Security in Your Smart Home 1

Written by Elmargyn

10th January 2020

Smart home technology is rapidly growing and changing the landscape of modern homes. IoT devices—which have long been used in various industries—are now creeping into the household faster than consumers can adapt. As with any innovation, there are accompanying risks and dangers. The most pressing issue with connected devices is their inherent lack of robust security, since some manufacturers—many argue—seem to be more concerned about making money quickly than providing long-term protection to consumers.

The risk associated with connected devices at home is mostly virtual, that is, unseen, and generally negligible. That said, when pushed further, these risks can easily inflict consumers with financial, emotional, psychological and even physical damages.

Network possession and break-in
The most serious risk consumers face, if their smart home devices are compromised, is to lose control of their network. This scenario has occurred many times in government and private entities when hackers take full control of their systems and keep them out of their networks. When bad actors take control of all devices in a smart home, they can unlock and disable smart locks, disable the alarm system, turn off cameras and execute a clean break-in.

Espionage and data breach
Cyberstalking is the most common risk consumers face when their devices are compromised, because hackers do not need to take control of the entire network to execute the act. This act can be performed remotely on the other side of the world. In fact, in most cases, consumers are not even aware that they are silently monitored. Hackers can extract sensitive recordings, videos, files and money to inflict emotional, psychological and financial damages.

Miscellaneous attacks against consumers
Hacking, for the sake of it, is the new normal—as if owning a smart device nowadays is tantamount to getting hacked. When part or all IoT devices in a smart home are compromised, hackers can execute serious attacks against the homeowner or using the consumer’s IoT devices to attack others. The following are some of the most common attacks used by hackers:

  • Gain monetary profit
  • Create a hub for cryptocurrency mining
  • Carry out denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against an institution
  • Create a botnet using smart home devices
  • Steal PII or financial credentials
  • Destroy connected devices
  • Cause chaos and destruction inside homes
  • Mislead victims by making devices send or display wrong information
  • Trigger falls alarms

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