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With increasing improvements in technology, our homes – and the appliances that fill them – are becoming smarter and smarter.
Once analogue ovens and fridges are now more interconnected, with TVs, speakers, heating, lighting and home personal assistants all connected to Wi-Fi and run by phone apps.
While this offers greater personal convenience, it opens up homes to the threat of hacks – with every new connection another possible vulnerability.
Such hacks are not common, but in December, South Korean police announced that four people had been arrested for allegedly hacking more than 120,000 home video cameras, showing that it is a possible threat.
Read more on the Money blog
Invest in a ‘padlock’ to guard against ‘silent’ attack
Dr Manny Niri, a cybersecurity expert at Oxford Brookes University, has told Money that hacking a smart home is “unfortunately, quite feasible”.
He added: “Many smart devices are designed to be cheap and easy to use, but not secure by default.
“People often keep factory passwords or do not update device software. Attackers use automated tools to scan the internet for these weak devices.
“In many cases, the hacking is silent, such as viewing a camera without the user noticing. The South Korea case shows how simple security failures can lead to serious privacy harm.”
Ethical hacker Glenn Wilkinson also told Money there can be some “significant risks” in a smart home, but explained the likelihood of hacking a home in terms of how secure a padlock is – encouraging the public to invest in their cybersecurity.
“A cheap lock from the corner shop is probably quite easy to pick,” he said. “A padlock made to lock a vault of gold is likely a lot more secure.”
If hackers can get into one device, they can try to access others on the same home network, Niri explained, adding: “The outcome can include spying through cameras, stealing personal data, or using the home internet connection for criminal activity.”
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