More and more of us are buying devices for our homes, and even devices that we carry with us, that require a connection to the Internet; and typically, that connections provided via wireless, such as WiFi or Bluetooth connection. Recently, HP’s security division did a series of tests against the 10 most common smart devices, including appliances, cameras, home monitoring systems, and even thermostats.
The series of test found that a lot of these devices are extremely vulnerable to being hacked. Ultimately, it’s a cautionary warning that it’s not a good idea to buy these devices and set them up without taking precautions to make sure you’re secure.
According to HP, the average household will have 25 smart devices within the next 5 years. However, if those devices aren’t safeguarded, there’s a lot of potential consequences resulting from hackers:
- Capturing information traveling through the network.
- Turning off the refrigerator, alarm system, etc.
- Changing the temperature of the house.
Fortunately, smart devices can be protected with encryption, such as WPA2, the most advanced version of the WPA wireless protection protocol, which allows you to use long passphrases and complex characters while setting up the password.
Plus, the firmware (the software on your wireless router) must be kept up to date, because over time, vulnerabilities are discovered that allow people to hack into these devices.
When it comes to the band of router, it depends on the devices you’re going to be connecting to; plus, within a band, there’s multiple channels designed to prevent confliction with each other. While most people leave that to the default settings, it’s a good security measure to go in and change the channel to something that’s not typical, in order to make it harder to find and hack into.
To learn more about the security risks involved with the Internet of things, give us a call at (831) 753-7677 or send us an email at [email protected]. Alvarez Technology Group is here to help you minimize the risks associated with adopting smart devices.
