With so many smart home brands in the market, it can be difficult to monitor each one for security. After all, even popular brands haven’t been immune to issues. In fact, a 2022 study revealed several potential vulnerabilities in the Amazon Echo, including hackers eavesdropping on private conversations and getting control of them via the smart assistant Alexa’s Skills. On some days, your robot vacuum can be one of your favorite things in your home because it helps you pick up the endless amount of pet hair. However, on others, they can be a source of stress, especially when hackers take them over and start using the microphone to say some nasty things or access the camera. Just this year, Global News even reported how many owners of the Ecovacs Deebot X2 experienced these things and more due to a security flaw.
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In many ways, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a double-edged sword. Thankfully, this doesn’t mean you’re doomed to go back to life before the age of smart devices. While there are definitely some things that are up to the manufacturer (and out of your hands), there are still some easy things you can do to make sure your home remains a safe space that isn’t compromised by bad actors. To manage your smart home security, there are two main things you need to look at: The Wi-Fi network and the actual smart devices. Here are some tips to manage them.
Change the default Wi-Fi login details and router password
Have you ever visited a friend or family member’s home that you’ve never been to before and suddenly found yourself connected to the Wi-Fi? Well, it might be because they never changed their default password, which can be true even for you if your internet service provider uses generic passwords during their installation process. Using default Wi-Fi names and passwords can increase your security risks in your home (and possibly with your smart home devices). For example, it mentions that hackers can use specific tools designed to exploit vulnerabilities in specific routers, which can sometimes be indicated by the Wi-Fi name.
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Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to change your Wi-Fi password, as well as its name. Apart from making sure you replace it with a strong, difficult-to-guess password, quarterly password changes can improve security. While you’re at it, you may want to change your router’s default password as well. In many cases, these come with variations of “admin” or “password’ which anyone can guess. Plus, if any mischievous neighbors get the wrong idea, you can end up dealing with everything from malware to handing them access to your personal files. To change your router password to something a little more difficult to guess, you can either use the app that came with it or log in via its console and change it through the settings.
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Update or upgrade your router
Since the router acts like a gateway to all the connected devices in your home, making sure it’s fortified should be at the top of your list. Because of this, the next step is to enable your router to handle existing vulnerabilities via software updates and security patches. In addition, we’ve also talked about the ideal time to replace your router and the multiple factors you need to take into consideration when deciding to do so. Depending on the manufacturer, it usually happens around the two to five-year mark.
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These days, newer routers utilize the WPA3 standard, which adds more security features to your router’s arsenal. Released in 2018, it is the most updated generation of Wi-Fi security protocol that was required for all Wi-Fi Certified routers two years later, in 2020. Compared to its predecessor, the WPA2, the WPA3 sets itself apart with enhanced password and data protection, as well as improved connectivity features. If your router was purchased before 2020, you can check out our recommendations for the best affordable Wi-Fi routers to help you make a decision.
And if you feel bad getting rid of something that is still working, there are still a lot of uses for old Wi-Fi routers. So, just because it’s not ideal as your primary router does not mean it needs to go to the junkyard. Aside from using it as a Wi-Fi extender, you can also use it for other suggestions in this list.
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Create a separate guest Wi-Fi
When it comes to smart home safety, it’s the responsibility of everyone in your household to practice good internet safety habits. In many ways, you’re only as secure as the least secure person in your environment. However, not everyone who visits your home will be as careful or have good intentions. Regardless, in some cases, you may need to give visitors access to your Wi-Fi connection, such as service workers, new friends, or distant family members. Unfortunately, giving people you don’t necessarily trust access to your home Wi-Fi can put you at risk, especially if they have bad intentions.
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One way to still be able to give guests access to the internet while reducing possible risks to your home is by setting up a guest Wi-Fi network. A guest Wi-Fi network will let people go online while still maintaining a degree of separation from your personal or smart home devices. Aside from its own Wi-Fi name and password, you can also manage other network-related resources for your separate guest Wi-Fi network, such as parental controls, time limits, or controlling bandwidth. And if you’re worried about making your password difficult to type, you give them the option to connect to the guest Wi-Fi via QR code as well. If you decide to upgrade to a newer router, you can also use your old Wi-Fi router to serve as your guest Wi-Fi router instead.
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Partition smart home gadgets
Similar to adding a guest network, you might also want to consider moving some smart devices to a different Wi-Fi network. Unlike computers, smart home devices don’t usually have antivirus capabilities built-in. Not to mention, some gadgets can be more prone to getting viruses than others, like smart TVs. In 2019, Samsung even issued advice to regularly scan their smart TVs for malware, which caught a lot of owners by surprise. For this reason, they are often used as a gateway used by hackers to access other devices, which are more difficult to breach, in your home.
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To add a layer between your less secure smart-home devices, you can opt to partition your Wi-Fi. Once you do this, some of your smart home devices essentially live on a different network from your other devices that can contain more sensitive information, like your computers or mobile phones. Similar to the guest Wi-Fi setup, this can be done with the help of a second router dedicated specifically to your riskier smart home devices.
Depending on the specific smart home device, the steps to change the Wi-Fi network they’re connected to will be different, but we do have a nice guide for changing the Wi-Fi network on Google Home devices. After partitioning, you should also consider encrypting your Wi-Fi network, especially the one to which your gadgets with critical details are connected, so that any breaches can be better contained.
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Manage your smart home device passwords
Given that the number of American homes with smart devices has been growing more and more each year, it may take some time to secure all your smart devices. That said, one free way to secure your home with a lot of smart devices is simply by making sure you manage your passwords well. When choosing strong passwords, you can make it more difficult for hackers to crack them with their existing tools, which can make you less of a target. To help you remember your more complex passwords, you can even use a password manager. If you don’t know how to choose the right one for you, we’ve listed some of the best password managers for Android and iPhone.
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In addition, as much as possible, it’s important to have 2-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) in place too. In the past, we’ve also discussed the importance of adding multiple verification methods to keep your smart home locks safe from hackers. With multi-factor authentication, hackers will not be able to fully log in to your account even if they get your username and password from data breaches. We have a pretty comprehensive list of things that you should do right away if you think you’ve been hacked.
Get rid of unsupported smart devices
With how fast technology is progressing, it’s not surprising that smart home manufacturers release better versions of their products each year. While many products can definitely still work for years after upgraded versions are released, some manufacturers introduce sneaky tricks to get people to buy more things, including no longer offering firmware updates. At best, a lack of support can just mean minor inconveniences, like not being able to access the latest features or experiencing marginal issues with performance.
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However, at worst, it can open a can of worms, especially since critical security patches may no longer be deployed. For example, Google discontinued its Chromecast lineup earlier this year, so users can expect the rest of the models to follow in the path of the Chromecast (1st gen), which no longer gets security updates.
That said, while we’ve listed several things you can try to keep your smart home less prone to hacking, it’s important to know that your internet habits play a huge role in your overall safety as well. After all, while smart devices can be a hacker’s entry into your home, it’s not the only way. So, if you haven’t already, make sure to be mindful of your browsing, the apps that you download, and the links that you click. In addition, you can also do regular updates for your computer’s programs and invest in a good VPN.
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