In our earlier blogs we have discussed about smart homes several times. Many new gadgets are available to make your home smarter and more efficient, however it is still up to us to know how we can increase the security of our home and the connected devices throughout our smart home.
Our internet connected devices such as smart TV, security cameras, video doorbell, smart locks, etc can add a level of comfort to your life. However, they could also create a vulnerability for your home and connected devices if not secured properly. As they say, great power brings great responsibility.
The Internet of Things – all the connected devices and appliances that connect to the internet and to each other on your home network have also created new opportunities for cybercriminals. Therefore it is also important to know ways from which we can defend ourselves from these people and can also increase our home security in a most advanced way.
Our home wifi is the most important key to our smart home security. Like any other front door in a house our wifi is the front door to our smart home and hence it should be strong and solid. Making a more secure smart home starts with your Wi-Fi router. It is the foundational item which connects all of your smart connected devices and makes them operable.
Most people use the router provided by the ISP, but considering using a personal and more advanced router would be our recommendation. Once you get a more secure router, then it will be a great idea to research the smart devices you want. You should read the policies to know if they store data with them or share our data with any third parties, or how updates or patches are applied.
Below are the key points which we would recommend to you for keeping your smart home secured:
1) Change your wifi name because it could show your manufacturer or model name.
2) Use strong encryption method for wifi.
3) Set up a strong network: It is a good idea to setup strong encryption method like WPA2-PSK.
4) Set up guest network: keeping your Wi-Fi account private helps our friends and relatives log into a separate network that does not tie with our IoT devices.
5) Change default usernames and passwords: Cybercriminals probably already know the default passwords which come with many IoT products and devices. Which makes it easy for criminals to access your IoT devices and information stored in it.
6) Use strong, unique passwords for wifi networks and device accounts: We should always avoid common passwords that are easy to guess, such as “password” or “123456”. Instead use unique and complex passwords.
7) Check the device settings: IoT devices may come with default privacy and security settings. One should definitely consider changing them because some default settings could benefit the manufacturer more than they benefit us.
8) Disable features you do not need: IoT devices can come with a variety of services such as remote access, often enabled by default which we do not need. If you don’t need any particular feature, disable it.
9) Keep your software updated: When your smartphone manufacturer sends us an update, it might come with a patch for a security flaw. Mobile security is also equally important because you may connect your smart home via mobile devices. Your IoT manufacturers also may send you an update, you might want to check it and be sure to download updates and apply them to keep your devices safe and secured.It is no doubt that IoT devices are being frequently launched and can make a place in your home very easily. They are capable of making our lives more convenient and even happier but we should also not forget to secure our modern smart home and our IoT devices.