Have you bought a smart air conditioner? This is what you must do
The idea of an air conditioner that can be controlled remotely is a fascination for all of us, but has many security risks. If you purchase one, there are some preventative steps you must take
The commercials promised full control of the temperature and operation from the beach as well. A smart air conditioner is an upgrade that one must owe to himself at least once in our life, because our lives have long been embedded in the app. A phone call after installation to the company's hotline to connect to the remote startup service - the insight hit: Someone is taking over our lives. And more in the distance. The representative demonstrated the possible performance. He raised and lowered the temperatures, turned on the ventilation stages, turned off the air conditioner and turned it on again.
Because I was busy "my life was about to change", I forgot to ask myself the most important question: Why can someone take over my new air conditioner like this ?! As an information security person, the thoughts have already sailed farther than that - if the service provider can take control of my air conditioner remotely, then with a little more effort it can probably reach my router as well, and from there to my wireless network and all the devices connected to it. The feeling of enthusiasm was quickly replaced with concern. Smart air conditioner, I thought. So smart I got hot.
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Air conditioner (Photo: ShutterStock)
The smart home has been catching more and more market segments in recent years. It includes a variety of products: smart home cameras, smart boiler switch, remote control air conditioner, even smart front door lock. And why even need it? Some believe it is a treat that improves the standard of living. And some say it is the safest and best way to look after the safety of the home and its occupants: the elderly, children, babies.
Bottom line, smart home products offer options that make using basic things an experience. For example, scenarios can be created in different products: for example, when the input sensor detects a door opening, it turns on the light in the living room and opens the shutter. When the sensor in the room detects you are out, it turns off the light and the air conditioner. When the sensor detects that the child has come home, he activates the microwave and heats the spaghetti. It's economical, that's for sure. And let's face it, it's pretty cool. But like everything else, there are risks here too.
All smart home products connect to the home internet through the home router. Although the password is secure, breaking into such routers is the rule of thumb for any beginning hacker. Revealing the router's password can lead to hacking into the connected household products. In this case, the hacker can control a vacuum cleaner or boiler at best, but in the worst case, it will take over the shutter in the living room, the front door, the cameras.
Password protect
But there are things that can and should be done to minimize the risks. For example, if you purchase the router yourself and not through the ISP, make sure you buy from a good and well-known company and one that does not store information about its customers. In addition, don't forget to protect your home network password, set up a policy to change your router passwords once every two weeks and avoid passwords like your personal phone number or child's date of birth. Do yourself a favor and take the home network protection issue seriously.
With enthusiasm from the smart home, don't forget about the risks and stay calculated. Allow yourself to enjoy smart home products that provide a great user experience, but make sure to limit them so they don't over-expose you. Remember: A smart hacker and a smart home are a dangerous combination, especially for a stupid client. So make sure the smart lock will keep the hacker out and the smart shutter won't let him in either. And make sure the smart camera is used by you - and not become a tool by a sophisticated burglar. Otherwise, the smart home might turn out to be a not-so-smart idea.
The writer is a project manager and attack team at 2 BSecure, Matrix's information security and cyber company
