I have touched on this in past articles. Now there are Smart speakers with Alexa, Siri and Google built in I thought I would give you some suggestions on how you can protect and secure yourself.
It is important to recognize that all your smart appliances must go through some type of router before getting to your device. The router will then allow you to connect either through hard wire or Wi-Fi. Hard wire would be faster and more secure; however, Wi-Fi is easier and found in more devices. In either case make sure that your router has a strong password that you created. Make sure that you have the highest-level security for your Wi-Fi such as WPA/WPA2. Also, if your router is more than 5 years old you should consider replacing it with a new modern router. This will ensure that you are using the latest hardware and software security.
Smart speakers are appearing in homes everywhere, they were the highest selling in Amazon this past Christmas season. They are good at playing your favorite music and getting better all the time at following your commands. They can control your alarm system and lock and unlock your front door. Before you allow Alexa, Siri or Google to unlock your front door, ask yourself how secure are they. Can they differentiate your voice form the voice of a stranger? What if you left your house and a stranger came to your front door and said “Unlock the Door” would it unlock? Voice recognition is getting better every day, so test your device before trusting it.
Are smart TV’s tracking what you watch? The answer is yes, they can. I have written another article that explains how they do this and more important how you can stop it.
Do you have cameras inside your house? Many of us do. Ask yourself are they secure and how do I prevent them from being taken over by some smart actor. That could put you into a very embarrassing situation.
It is important to carefully investigate every new smart device that you purchase to determine how it works and what data it collects about you. Then secure that device within your home network. If you are not sure about a particular device disconnect it from your home network. Remember, most every device that you have in your home has to go through your router, secure it!
