You may have heard the recent news of over 100,000 Korean home cameras being hacked to spy on people, and I wouldn't blame you if news like that makes you worry about smart homes and how safe new devices are. While that kind of intrusive cybercrime sounds very frightening, I have some good news.
First, home "hacking" is incredibly rare and often comes from someone you already know. From what we can tell, the Korean hack was primarily due to bad user practices like poor passwords, and carried out by only several people. Modern, reputable brands of smart locks, home security systems and other tech are always updating their security to protect you against attacks, including the latest AI promptware vulnerabilities.
Let's break it all down to give you valuable info as well as some peace of mind.
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How smart homes can -- and can't -- be hacked
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First, "hackers" or to be more accurate, cybercriminals are not likely driving around scanning for vulnerable smart homes using nefarious gadgets. Wi-Fi ranges don't usually reach far enough for this to be effective and it would take a lot of effort for slim returns. There are some reports of major companies like casinos being hacked via smart devices, but very few are of someone trying to Ocean's 11 residential homes.
Likewise, burglars interested in breaking into your house don't appear to be investing in the software or equipment needed to hack a smart lock first. There are very few reported cases of smart home security systems being hacked or electronically disarmed for petty theft. A low-tech approach is easier and more realistic. Most attempt to break unguarded windows or check for unlocked doors. Some may spy on homes first, but that's as high-tech as they get. So how do smart homes get hacked? Here are potential avenues of attack and how they work (or don't).
1. Widespread automated online attacks
These automatic online attacks from around the world that scan test nearly everything hooked up to the internet to see if accounts can be broken into, usually with brute-force password guesses that bombard devices with billions of various login attempts hoping one makes it through. Then the attack infects the device, adding it to a botnet for future cyberattacks or generalized data theft. A human cybercriminal rarely tries to seize control of your device. These mass online attacks are what created the often-cited Which? study about smart homes facing up to 12,000 hacking attempts per week (one succeeded, for an ieGeek camera).
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