The Internet of Things has opened a gate towards tomorrow’s world. Simply to think of the times when people used to laugh about how silly those sci-fi movies actually believed there would be an appliance that recognized our voice, or the example set by the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon “The Jetsons” on smart devices is enough testimony of how humanity seeks to craft the best living comfort conditions, leading to technological advancements as a consequence of such acts. However, is there an end game for Smart Homes?
When the Internet Knows Too Much
Today we happen to be accustomed to the fact that social media networks as Facebook use our browsing history to provide an accurate advertisement that is not only geotagged but tailored to our needs and interests. For some, such approach is, above everything else, invasive, thus the reason why people have been switching from ordinary browsers like Chrome or Firefox to Tor to avoid the cookie tracking factor.
However, when you consider the fact hackers may come across sensitive data coming from you due to a breach at one of those servers is the precise moment in which you start to consider if whether you shouldn’t be sharing as much personal information as you happen to be doing.
Of course, you can moderate some publications done through social media, and even, under extreme circumstances, deleting your social media accounts in what could be considered a privacy paranoia: this simply doesn’t solve the problem.
The Role of Smartphones
The advantages gained by the introduction of smartphones to our everyday routine has the major downside on these convenient devices tracking every movement we do not just by using the GPS, but also through the phone signal. When it could be considered as high-level knowledge, some hackers can guess your day-to-day routine by reading data coming from the antennas you came across through an average day.
What could be done on this behalf? Being brutally honest, not much, unless you desire to live as a pariah, entirely isolated from 21st Century lifestyle; however, there are certain countermeasures you can consider to protect your interests:
- Avoid sharing sensitive information under public areas as cafes, supermarkets, libraries, etc. You can’t ever guess who might be eavesdropping your conversations, hence the reason why some talks are meant to be private and not to become a public known topic.
- Don’t ever log into public WiFi, unless extremely necessary. Instead, invest in the services of a VPN provider in case you need to log to vital work information.
- Don’t stick to routines. For high-profile businesspersons, one of the most advisable strategies to do is to keep switching schedule in order not to establish a parameter. This is critical in case you happen to be carrying important sums of money with you or any other relevant, valuable object that might catch the interest of criminals to threaten your life.
smart devices – When the IoT Invades Our Household
As lovely as they may look, the sole act of filling our home with smart devices is opening a gate to intruders if we don’t seriously assume the risks of being constantly online. We often consider that just computers, and under rare circumstances tablets are the only “hack-able” devices – this is today’s biggest fallacy known to date. Refrigerators, washing machines, smart-home devices, smart TVs, printers, gaming consoles, and many other etceteras are continuously storing information on our habits, interests, purchases and much more. If you give it a serious thought, you can even guess who was visiting your house, at which time and the activities linked to technology that took place under your roof.
That’s the main reason why you should invest time and efforts in creating a secure internet network in your home as everything starts with your router. The link between your place and the outer world needs to be a device capable of withholding a firewall, designed to meet up with the needs of a smartphone (i.e.: alerting of any abnormal activity), and be constantly up-to-date for keeping your network protected from the most recently malicious activities performed by hackers. We can sum up the list of elements involved in our household security through this infographic –
smart devices infographic
Infographic courtesy of ForRent.com
What to Expect?
Are hackers waiting for you to neglect your smart-home security? That’s a question only you can answer, as it is strictly linked to the work you do and the lifestyle you are carrying out. If you happen to be an ordinary, low-profile person, then hackers may come across your path as a mere coincidence when training for developing their skills or simply as part of a massive attack towards a service provider. Instead, if you are a celebrity or somebody with a considerable social influence, you already know you are targeted. Thus you need to reinforce the means of protecting not just your privacy but also the lifestyle you crafted with so much effort through the time.
