Are smart homes hackable?

If from one side home monitoring systems can assure you that kids got home just fine,
light sockets that can be switched on and off by a smartphone, thermostats that will
make the den all comfy before getting home, and even refrigerators that tell you when
you are out of specific food.
All these “smart” homes and devices, with multiple connections to the outside world,
offer unprecedented access to information and a certain amount of ease.

They also make your home almost vulnerable. Here are some basic considerations that you can take to make your smarter home
safer:

1. The fewer devices you have connected to the web, the fewer spots of entry;

2. Be always focused on “cyber-hygiene” as an important step in protecting a
home’s network. Simple rules regarding passwords — make them difficult
and not obvious, change them often, alter any default settings, and don’t
share — are so obvious but easily forgotten by kids who are focused on
playing videogames;

3. Change your router name from “our family address is” to something a little
less obvious;

4. Many people buy products without having a full idea of their capacity or
potential: the instruction guides are just too long to read. But it’s a little
disconcerting to learn that that new television has an out-facing camera
that’s been monitoring you watching your movie when you thought no one
was watching;

5. Avoid Single Points of Failure try to adopt systems that do not have a “single
point of failure;” for example in your smart homes you may adopt backup
generators like in hospitals. A layered defense is the best defense. In conclusion
any system of security has three fundamental aspects: minimizing risks,
maximizing defenses, and maintaining our spirit and freedoms in the process.