Ever since smart locks and smart homes first emerged, they have seen raging popularity, but is that popularity leading to a huge security threat? When you type in, “Locksmith near me,” you will most likely see Star Locksmith Philadelphia, as one of the locksmith companies.
We have seen this newly emerging trend, but we find it important to warn smart home owners about the potential security threats if you don’t address them.
Virtual Assistants: The Problem
Everyone wants a virtual assistant like Alexa or Google Home, but many don’t realize the security risks that they might be signing up for. Someone with knowledge in it can get access to the garage and smart locks through this system.
It doesn’t even require sophisticated software to pull it off. They replicate the voice command through a laser, and they replicate the pulse to the same frequency as the voice, which gives them access to the smart homes. You don’t want that!
This stuff can be found on Youtube, so who knows what some of the other criminals could use to enter your smart homes. That’s the problem with technology over a traditional lock. While it might work in some cases, it also poses a secondary security threat to you over what a traditional lock does.
Smart Homes with a Laser
It sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel, but the truth is that it happens in today’s world. If you don’t take the right precautions, you could be open to this threat.
With everything said, that shouldn’t mean that it spells the end for using software like this. In fact, it shows us only the beginning as this technology will continue to improve and eventually even potentially take over. If you have a home that uses a password, write it down somewhere and memorize it.
Don’t store your passwords online. Keep your systems updated with the latest patches because this stops hackers from exploiting known security threats.
Choose Your Devices Wisely
Especially when it comes to home security, as locksmiths, we always advise people to choose their smart locks like they’d choose their heart surgeon. You can’t afford to pick the wrong one.
Hackers and other criminals that spot an easy target will take what they can of value without question. Especially if it looks like an easy target, they won’t even hesitate to enter your home. Give these people the boot and put the padlock on your smart home security!
As a general rule, most of the major brands won’t ever become a problem. They usually will give you some of the best security out there, but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t find a way to break the system.
Before you buy a security device, always check to see that it has security features and a bunch of them. Look at reviews from multiple people to see what kind of experience other customers have had with it.
Strong Passwords a Must
If your home will have a password, make sure that you choose a strong one that some of the most sophisticated software can’t decipher. You don’t want to choose something simple, and most software even requires that you type a complicated password.
Along with having strong passwords, you should usually change your password a couple of times each year to keep the hackers guessing. You never know when a data leak might happen that could expose a previous password. In this way, you keep your smart homes safe.
Two-Factor Authentication
Anyone who wants to have a smart home should put two-factor authentication on it. This acts as a second password for the case where the hacker might slip past your password and figure out your username as well.
In this way, even if they manage to slip past the first layer of security, they will have a hard time getting through the two-factor authentication.
Use one that will warn you if anyone has attempted to get onto your account and break in. If any suspicious activity happens, you want to know about it so that you can quickly change your password.
With most of the smart devices, they don’t have two-factor authentication. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find it, however. For example, Ring, Arlo and Google Nest all have plans to put this feature in their upcoming technology, and it’s most likely that many of the other companies will follow suit.
Beware of App Permissions
An essential thing about technology, you should beware of the app permissions because of how smart home apps will collect data on how you use the apps. This can be extraordinarily bad for you.
You need to look at what this is gathering and use the information to deny the permissions that you don’t want. In all honesty, you shouldn’t give out more data than what you need to give.
If a device stops working or you have gotten rid of it, you should unlink it from the system so that it doesn’t prove to be a security threat.
Keep the Digital Front Protected
As much as possible, you want to keep your smart homes protected on the digital front because cyber criminals will look for openings that they can find and exploit. When you type in, “Locksmith near me,” you will find us on your radar. Come check us out!
Here at Star Locksmith, we would like to help you stay safe. We can look at your technology to figure out how safe it truly is. In some cases, people have technology that isn’t quite as safe as what they first believed.
Because we work in this field, we understand when something is safe and when it isn’t. No digital security system will be perfect, but we can help to pinpoint you to some of the brands that have a strong reputation in this space.
Call a Locksmith or 911?
You have some cases of simple inconvenience where calling a locksmith makes sense. Simply call him up and follow the steps to get back inside the home. In other cases, you could face several hours locked outside the home or stranded miles away.
For those situations, you may want to type on your phone, “Locksmith near me.” This ensures the locksmith will respond quickly. That said, you have some cases where it makes more sense to call 911.
