The Risks of IoT Home Appliances and Smart Homes

The smart home has become mainstream. Close to half of all American households now have at least one IoT device, with close to 20% of households boasting six or more. Being able to check up on your kids from work or letting the neighbor in to water your plants with a single tap can be invaluable, but each gadget you add to your smart home ecosystem also introduces new security concerns.

This article explores various smart home vulnerabilities and how you can address them.

Why is the Smart Home Vulnerable?

Smart bulbs, plugs, etc., are small and relatively unsophisticated devices. They have the necessary hardware to transmit data or log usage but not much else. Their size, focus on cost-effectiveness, and lack of universal security standards make it easy for manufacturers to introduce products vulnerable to a wide variety of attacks.

Many IoT devices use old or proprietary connection protocols that are easy to bypass. A single poorly protected device is often the gateway to the hub that controls them all. Some smart home gadgets are relatively safe, but the apps that control them can have security flaws.

How Do Attackers Exploit Smart Home Devices?

Each smart home device is a unique attack vector with varying opportunities for exploitation. For example, intercepting something as seemingly harmless as a smart light bulb’s usage patterns can give hackers insights into your habits and let them figure out the perfect time for a robbery.

Many users don’t bother changing their devices’ default logins, which are trivial to “hack” since the information is likely available online. Devices like smart cameras may have a standalone web interface, which the attacker can put default credentials into to gain access.

From there, they can alter the device’s settings, potentially disabling security systems, monitoring feeds, or eavesdropping on conversations. Some brazen attackers even scare victims through built-in speakers.

Hacking also happens at the network level. A misconfigured router or open ports, which some devices require for remote access, make it easier to expose devices and attempt logins through default credentials. Accessing camera streams or smart locks remotely through public Wi-Fi is convenient but introduces additional risks like man-in-the-middle attacks.

Obtaining your IP address gives hackers additional options. They can target IoT and other connected devices with DDoS attacks, making them temporarily unusable. It’s also possible to add a compromised device to a botnet and repurpose it for executing DDoS attacks, sending malware to others, and more.

Can You Prevent These Attacks?

Absolutely, and you don’t need to be too tech-savvy or significantly change your habits.

Start by buying products from responsible IoT device manufacturers with proven security track records and standards. Thanks to the recently introduced Cyber Trust Mark, identifying them will become more straightforward.

Ensure your existing devices have unique login credentials and are running the latest firmware updates. If you no longer receive updates, consider purchasing alternatives. It’s only a matter of time before someone discovers and takes advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities.

Create a guest network in your router settings and have smart devices connect to it. That way, they can talk to each other and access the internet without impacting connected computers, laptops, etc.

Use a VPN to connect to the internet, whether through your home network or remotely through public Wi-Fi. This obscures your real IP address and eliminates tracking. You can easily confirm whether your VPN works as intended by using a tool like IP lookup.

Additionally, anyone who monitors the network might register activity, but the VPN’s encryption makes it impossible for them to intercept and use any data your smart home might be sharing.

Conclusion

Quality of life improvements or not, the smart home horror stories that occasionally pop up would give anyone pause. Now that you know more about the threats and how to effectively mitigate them, you’re in a much better position to build up and safely use the smart home of your dreams.