How the Connection Between IoT and Smartphones Compromise Your Safety
With the emergence of smart devices, we can control appliances and other aspects of our lives. But, are you letting in intruders at the same time?
The latest Internet of Things (IoT) devices has changed our home spaces like never before. Virtual Assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allow us to dive into smart devices including thermostats, door locks, light bulbs, security cameras, and more. Without getting out of bed or our favorite reclining chair, we can control the environment around us with merely a finger tap on our smartphones.
Now that our homes and private lives can be controlled and monitored via our smartphones, are they open to vulnerabilities? Collections of your personal information are shared between your new IoT devices and your smartphone, so you can bet that prying eyes may want to take a look.
If you’re worried about others looking into your home life through a smartphone, be sure to keep these easy to follow security tips in mind when it comes to your smart devices:
Lock Your Smartphone With a Passcode
It all starts with a simple four to six digit pin number that you can place on your phone. The argument that no one is interested in what you have on your smartphone really doesn’t fly as our devices gain deeper access into our personal lives. Now, with smart home devices quite literally attached, the first line of defense is to create a strong passcode.
Head to your Android settings and be sure to enable a digital pin for your device. Feeling like you want to go the extra mile? Create an alphanumeric passcode for increased security. With many devices now supporting fingerprint login, the number of times you will be prompted to enter that passcode isn’t very often.
Smart Devices are Monitored by Apps
Applications that control your smart devices should ideally be locked down with an additional layer of security. Some solutions, such as dfndr security’s applock feature enable users to protect specific apps with a secondary password or pin.
Whether you have a weak passcode to unlock your phone or you handed your device to another person to use, secondary passwords ensure that your most sensitive apps deter tampering. You may even find that some of your favorite IoT device apps already have a secondary security option built-in.
App Permissions? Be Cautious!
When downloading new apps from the Play Store, you’re notified what permissions they require from your phone. These can range from accessing your microphone or camera, to being able to access different areas of your smartphone’s system.
Carefully read through what permissions new apps are requesting. Granting full permissions to unknown services may cause your device to be at risk, and by association, your smart devices could be at risk too. Know what you’re downloading and deny any permission requests that seem to be unnecessary for the app to function.
Follow these steps, and the privacy shared between your IoT devices and your smartphone should stay a bit more secure.