With the holidays, I’ve found a few new toys that fit within my industry. Christmas was nice to me on that one.
These are off the shelf security products that allow you to easily automate your home and can be easily linked to your existing security system. These off the shelf products include thermostats, cameras, locks, lighting, appliance modules, door bells, and just about anything you can think of to link to a security system.
As I’m enjoying setting things up and digging into various networks to add and install devices, I started thinking. How much am I opening my network to vulnerabilities?
How far will people go in terms of giving up security, for the sake of convenience?
The more products we add to our security networks, the more vulnerable it is to hacking and opening those networks to outside influences. When off the shelf products such as the Nest, Dropcam, Nest smoke detectors, etc. are added to the home network, the method it uses links them to the root network through wifi. If the device can be hacked because these products are not usually encrypted, then the hacker is within the network. It’s like leaving the key in the door lock for the hacker to come right into your personal network and to your computer where you keep your private information.
Do you leave the key to your house sitting in the door lock? Why would you do that with any other system?
This is a very important variable to think about as your automated world expands. There is a difference between actual security and off the shelf convenience. Its up to you to decide how vulnerable you want to be.
You should not have to compromise your security because you’re adding unencrypted devices to your network. I highly suggest 2GIG which is a security company that uses it’s own encryption and networking that is separate from your WIFI network so you don’t open up your network to security risks.
At Hard Target Systems, our products have their own secure mesh network. So they are separate from the home network and away from your computer. We also offer security evaluations where we address these situations with every install. We believe your security is important and should not be downgraded for the sake of convenience. Knowing how you’re exposed or covered is an important factor into whether you have a good month and that’s the BOTTOM LINE.