Smart devices provide convenience and comfort, but can also give hackers an avenue for control. A smart lock may be compromised to give hackers full control over who enters the home.
An infected router could then be used to compromise other connected devices. Luckily, there are numerous steps you can take to protect and secure your smart devices and make them safer.
Protect Your Devices
Smart devices refer to any electronic device connected to the internet. This includes everything from light bulbs and thermostats, kettles and kettle-type kettles through washing machines and toothbrushes all the way up to toothbrushes and security locks. Unfortunately, many of these devices can be vulnerable to cyber attacks.
These attacks can cause substantial property damage or disruption, or give criminals entry to your home. Some smart devices are vulnerable to malware that steals personal information about users and their family; additionally, these devices can also be used in Denial of Service attacks which make websites and services unavailable.
Cyber attacks against smart homes are becoming more frequent as more people adopt this technology into their lives. By taking some simple precautions, however, you can help to safeguard them against cyber threats. This includes your smart devices like these refrigerators: https://www.cinchhomeservices.com/view-blog/-/blogs/which-brand-is-best-refrigerator
As your first step in security, ensure all devices have strong passwords. Longer passwords that contain both upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols may provide greater protection. Furthermore, try not to reuse passwords between accounts.
Consider placing your smart devices on a separate network from that used by computers and mobile phones, to prevent hackers from accessing personal information stored on those devices through taking control of smart devices. This will provide additional protection.
Change the Default Name of Your Router
Smart devices in our homes can pose privacy and cyberthreat issues. This is because these devices collect and store personal data about our usage, habits and preferences, while connecting to the internet poses cyberthreat risks. To address these concerns, we created Cybersecurity Audit for Home which evaluates all smart devices within your home while offering recommendations to reduce risks.
Switching the default name of your router is an easy way to protect it and its connected devices from external threat. By doing so, anyone who discovers its make and model cannot look up its login details online and gain entry. A good name to choose would not include any personal identifiers such as dates or names that may identify an individual.
Once a hacker gains entry to any smart device on your network, they could infect all other devices within it, making strong passwords and two-factor authentication a necessity. Unfortunately, as we discussed in Part Two of this series, implementing these requirements may create friction that detracts from user experience.
Setting up a separate network for smart devices can also be helpful; this enables relatives, friends, and guests to access them without disrupting your main home network. That way, even if hackers gain entry through these smart devices they won’t gain access to more sensitive data on your laptop or smartphone.
Change Your Passwords
Every now and then, news stories surface that hackers have breached smart home devices to gain personal data or take over them, due to designers rushing products into production without considering security in advance. Once cybercriminals gain entry to your smart devices, they have an opportunity to spy on or take control of them for themselves – potentially giving rise to new breaches in future.
Hackers have the capability of taking over smart TVs and changing channels or showing inappropriate material to children, or tapping into professional monitored security systems and making threatening calls, turning up the heat or playing vulgar music through speakers. Furthermore, hackers have access to and can steal voice recordings stored on smart home assistants that they can then use as an entryway into your entire network.
Passwords are essential when setting up and protecting smart devices. Avoid reusing passwords and select strong ones; additionally, ensure different passwords exist for Wi-Fi and devices if possible; two-factor authentication should always be enabled whenever possible; an effective password should include uppercase letters as well as numbers or symbols.
Before selling or gifting away a smart device, restore it to factory settings before doing so. This will ensure any personal information stored on it has been erased as well as prevent someone else using it as an entryway to break into your home security.
Check the Permissions for Apps
Smart home devices offer many conveniences to users, from remotely switching off lights and music players, to receiving notifications when someone rings the doorbell or walks past security cameras. But these devices also present hackers with opportunities to exploit information they provide and gain access to personal data stored therein.
As such, it’s imperative that homeowners with smart homes take cyber security more seriously. Step one is securing your router and changing passwords to prevent cybercriminals from accessing devices; using McAfee Total Protection may also help keep information safe.
Utilizing a password manager allows you to customize the permission settings on your smart devices. You have complete control over what information apps can access at any given time or only when needed, giving you greater control over who sees your data and when.
Regular updates of smart home devices should also help ensure they contain the latest security patches, helping close any security loopholes caused by older versions of software and plug-ins used on them. Outdated devices provide criminals with a gateway into your data and could compromise it for use against you online.
