When 24-year-old Heather Hines from Southern California was changing into her work clothes last month, she noticed the seven security cameras she owned from Wyze went offline for a short period of time, including the one in her bedroom.
that some devices intended to make homes safer or more convenient continue to pose some serious security risks. Still, little repercussions exist for the companies responsible for keeping customers safe. After accessing the app, he was able to peek into the front yards of two different residential homes, one of which he said was visible to a business across the street, making the location identifiable.
The latest incident highlights a growing problem not only with security cameras but other internet-connected devices, putting the onus often on consumers to take extra steps to keep their homes safe from potential breaches and bad actors. It also raises the question about whether the value of smart devices is worth the risks.
“All computing devices are susceptible to hacks,” said Paddy Harrington, a senior analyst at market research firm Forrester Research. “The exposure of those devices to attack just grows exponentially when you put them on the internet and store the data in a publicly accessible place.” Cheaply made devices target buyers who seek less costly solutions compared to known-brand names. Inexpensive options can also disappear; sometimes pulled from the market aFighting these issues remains a big challenge, akin to a game of Whac-a-Mole. Although the US government can go after American companies, it’s much harder to track down Chinese manufacturers. And even if a device says it was made in another country, its components could still be made in China.
“When it comes to what they sell, Amazon has a lot of work to do to clean out the garbage and until consumers hold them accountable, they’ll keep doing it because it makes them money,” Haddington said. But because there are twice as many that do “a poor job” on that front, people must do their research before buying, she added.on how people can keeping smart homes secure, such as by making sure users only allow the device to operate on a network with a secured Wi-Fi router, and picking strong network passwords.