Top Five Risks To Your Privacy In Smart Homes
There is no doubt that smart home technology has completely changed our lifestyle. And that too in a good way. Before you get out of your bed in the morning, you tap on your phone and the coffee machine in the kitchen downstairs turns on so that there is coffee ready before you enter the kitchen.
On a hot summer day, while you are driving home from work, you tap on your smartphone and turn on the thermostat so that your home is cool before you reach. There are multiple benefits to having a smart home system.
Such conveniences have brought about the growth of the smart home industry. One such name to trust is Xfinity Home. The service includes providing 24/7 professional monitoring where surveillance cameras are installed in your home. This makes you and your loved ones feel at ease. You can learn more about their smart home service by dialing the Xfinity phone number.
While smart home technology has made our lives extremely convenient, there are still risks attached to it. Be wary, we are not suggesting you stop enjoying the comfort and benefits of your smart home that you have worked so hard for. But you should at least be aware of what you have signed up for.
On that note, check out the following risks to your privacy in a smart home:
All Your Information is Saved
Data privacy is one of the major concerns when it comes to smart home security. You are well aware that your information is collected by smart home devices to learn about you so that these devices can personalize the whole experience for you.
The lighting, HVAC, printers, thermostats, speakers, etc. all store your data. The lighting system has information on when you come back home in the evening and turn on the lights, which room in your home is mostly used, and when everyone goes to sleep at night when all lights are turned off. This information allows the lighting system to automatically do it for you so you do not have to make effort to do it manually.
However, such information is at threat of being used by unknown activity hacking into your system and using it. What you can do is clear your cache data as soon as possible so that the data isn’t stored in the system for a long time.
Your Identity Could Be At Risk
Smart home devices store your information including date of birth, credit card details, time of payment (if you have made any), emails you are receiving and sending, and more. Such information is easily accessible by cybercriminals who can use your personal information against you.
Having access to your credit card information, cybercriminals can make payments using your information. If you don’t have a credit card, all your crucial information can still be used to apply for a credit card, and that is entirely possible and easy for cybercriminals to carry out. In other words, cybercriminals can completely change your life.
You can reduce such a risk by sharing as little information as possible with your smart devices. Also regularly monitor your credit card report for any unwanted activities.
You Are Sharing Your Location
This type of risk is often overlooked, but it makes you very vulnerable. For optimal performance, your smart devices require your location information. And you trust the smart home system enough to share your location status, because why not, it’s your home and devices after all.
Despite their amazing features and functionalities, your smart home devices are still vulnerable to potential hacking in the system. This puts your location information out in the open, for anyone to access.
You need to be wary of how your location could be shared. For instance, if you click on any malicious link through your smartphone or laptop, it might dupe any of your smart devices into giving up your location.
Hence, take care not to accept or go ahead with online activities or requests that you are not familiar with. Also, share your location with apps or smart devices when you need to, otherwise, just keep the location off.
Your Smart Home Appliances Are Also Vulnerable
We have already established that hackers can easily access your information from smart home devices. That means they can take over the control of your smart home devices too.
For instance, with access to the thermostat in your home, the hacker could fiddle with the controls, making the HVAC go into overdrive, and, in turn, causing the whole system to malfunction. Or if you are away from home, your over could get cranked up, causing a house fire and property damage, while you are away from home.
You can minimize the risk by looking into settings that enable locking your smart home devices.
Passwords Can Get Compromised
It’s widely known that weak passwords or the absence of two-factor authentication can make the system incredibly vulnerable to being hacked into.
This lapse in your security system might give anyone access to your smart home hub and other devices. And that’s also mostly how they can get control of the smart devices in your home. They get access to the control of your devices as well as the information about your routine stored in them.
You can deal with this by creating strong passwords. Make sure it’s not easy to guess, not some important dates that you want to remember, not phone numbers, and definitely not names. Make your password as unique as possible so it’s impossible to crack.
Final Thoughts
The purpose of this article isn’t to deter you from reaping the benefits and convenience that smart home technology could add to your lifestyle. Rather it was just to educate you and make you aware of the risks of having a smart home security system. This way you can take steps to minimize such a risk and prevent your smart home hub from being controlled by someone other than yourself.
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