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with technology advancing at the rate it is we're no longer in the simpler times of one tv and one battery-powered remote it is now possible to control our entire home through a simple click on our smartphone or a single word uttered from our mouths whilst the idea of remotely controlling your home is exciting convenient and admittedly a little impressive it does come with some concerning security flaws that's why here at cybernews.com we'll talk about smart home security the issues and how you can secure your smart home devices if you're new here don't forget to subscribe let's go so it can be hard to understand how exploits even happen considering these smart devices seem so unsuspecting and far from the high-risk computer systems we use every day however these devices are connected to the internet and can be used remotely all down to the little processor that is inside these devices use internet protocol as a means of linking up and are usually connected through some kind of hub such as your smartphone or even a dedicated smart hub in short these hubs let users protect monitor and remotely interconnect with their homes sounds great so far but as these devices all communicate one way or another there's really no room for security flaws moving on to our first real concern with smart home devices firmware updates or lack thereof anyone with any kind of smartphone has at one time or another realized the performance of their phone has started to deteriorate after a few years this is a prime example that smart devices do in fact come with an unknown expiration date and what happens if you're living that smart home dream only to realize these devices have been forgotten by their manufacturers and no longer receive security updates a lack of security updates could quickly add vulnerabilities to your home network and any data in that network could be accessible to an intruder this is a serious cause for concern slowly creeping around your nose just like the shark from jaws so if you'd like to read more in-depth information on smart homes from digital forensics to sustainability head to our article the link is down in the description click it so here's the thing smart home devices many collect personal information about you your habits so on and when you add the fact that they are connected to the internet it only leaves them more reason for concern now here's the thing with cyber criminals they often need a point of access to exploit their unsuspecting victims and the problem is when you connect things the internet can do just that provide an entry point for bad actors to get into your systems we might all be aware of certain vulnerabilities but did we ever expect it from simple home items like smart coffee machines or doorbells there's a multitude of cases where smart home devices have been taken over by attackers from baby monitors to smart cameras one case in particular is where an attacker gained access through a milwaukee couple's wi-fi network and took over their nest doorbell camera and thermostat back in 2018.

This hack resulted in their thermostat reaching 90 degrees and voices coming from their kitchen camera researchers continuously published information that smart home devices are leaving users open to larger exploits just like this one this year mcafee published research which in short questions where and when we should draw the line between convenience and security now what happens when the devices you install for the very purpose of higher protection and privacy is the very thing that is sending your customer data to third-party companies this has been known to happen with smart devices where user's information is sent off to large companies like facebook or google the ring doorbell app for android is a standard example of when things go wrong the company has been accused of surveilling its customers and sending out personally identifiable information that they collect from users of course companies are happy to receive this data as the more information they collectively gather the clearer picture of not only you as a user but also what devices you use they conform a lot of reputable smart home devices don't come that cheap showing that paying top bucks often isn't enough to give you the security level that you were hoping for that's why it's imperative that you take your security and privacy seriously and go the extra mile to safeguard your smart home devices here are a few steps you can take but first don't forget you've got the link below and be sure to subscribe we post new content every week so don't forget to upgrade old hardware that's no longer supported turning off any unwanted features on your new smart device set up two different networks one for your guests and one for your security devices always use strong passwords often these devices have default unsafe passwords install all firmware updates and lastly remember that 2fa can give you a strong level of protection thanks for watching until next time