{"id":15819,"date":"2016-10-06T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15819"},"modified":"2020-12-24T10:17:19","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T18:17:19","slug":"safer-smart-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/safer-smart-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Safer Smart Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Internet-of-Things promises convenience and efficiency, but without security protocols, any connected home could end up the victim of hackers and other cyber-crime.<\/em><\/p>\n

Is your refrigerator running?\"smarthouse\"<\/p>\n

No, this isn\u2019t some rehash of a preteen prank-call; thanks to Smart Homes, it\u2019s now a legitimate concern. While \u201cthe internet of things\u201d promises to liberate us from the toil of monitoring our residential lighting and free us to manage appliances from the comfort of our smart phones, this convenience is not without risk. As a recent article in Wired<\/a> points out, all those residential Wi-Fi connections have enabled \u201ca new breed of over-the-internet attacks,\u201d and Smart Homes are easy pickings for all manner of cyber-criminals.<\/p>\n

Connected and Vulnerable<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ability of hackers to remotely access internet connected devices has plagued public utilities and healthcare providers quite a bit in recent years. In 2011, Russian hackers<\/a> accessed the pump system of a Springfield, Illinois water utility, stealing users\u2019 names and destroying a water pump. Earlier this year, ransomware knocked out the internal computer at the Lansing Board of Water and Light<\/a> after an employee opened an email attachment. And the attacks are only increasing in volume and severity, trigger many security experts to raise the alarm and call for more stringent security systems.<\/p>\n

As Malwarebytes security researcher J\u00e9r\u00f4me Segura recently mused when considering the dangers of ransomware,<\/a> \u201cOne can imagine how detrimental it would be if someone was in the middle of a major operation and suddenly all of their health records became unavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, the concern about Smart Home vulnerability is not theoretical. In May of this year, Cybersecurity researchers at the University of Michigan unlocked the front door<\/a> of a Smart Home using specially developed \u201clock-pick\u201d malware. By exploiting \u201cover-privilege\u201d \u2013 a security loophole generated from SmartApps overly generous access protocols \u2013 the University researchers used a flaw in-app authentication to essentially create their own spare key. The researchers also marshalled the stream of messages programmed to manage connected devices to manipulate settings and even turn off a fire alarm.<\/p>\n

“The bottom line is that it’s not easy to secure these systems,” explained Atul Prakash, U-M professor of computer science and engineering to the university newspaper. “There are multiple layers in the software stack, and we found vulnerabilities across them, making fixes difficult.”<\/p>\n

“One way to think about it is if you’d hand over control of the connected devices in your home to someone you don’t trust,\u201d he continued. \u201cThen imagine the worst they could do with that and consider whether you’re okay with someone having that level of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hiding in Plain Sight<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Smart Home set-ups require users to override firewalls and allow public access to their in-home internet. Additionally, Smart Home apps often require the use public an IP address, which anyone to find the home\u2019s devices online \u2013 a seductive opportunity for many cyber-criminals.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust having a public IP presence for anything opens up so many possibilities,\u201d Guardian Project director Nathan Freitas told Wired. \u201cIf a device can be discovered, its vulnerability then depends on the manufacturer\u2019s attention to security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about a light bulb from China, you don\u2019t want to rely on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The non-profit Guardian Project focuses on promoting internet privacy. As part of a partnership with the Tor Project, which provides the Tor anonymity network, the Guardian Project has developed a network protection device using Tor encryption to secure connected homes and devices. While Tor has been used primarily to protect content pirates and other criminal activity, plenty of users take advantage of Tor\u2019s protections to safeguard critical online communications and confidential tasks.<\/p>\n

The Guardian Project\u2019s system relies on a Raspberry PI mini-computer to create a smart hub using HomeAssistant, an open-source software that works through Tor\u2019s hidden service. Nestling a smart home within layers of anonymity not only removes the vulnerabilities inherent in using a public IP; it keeps smart homes safe from digital attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll we did was pull these pieces together to demonstrate a proof-of-concept for the role Tor can play in your home,\u201d says Freitas, who\u2019s also a fellow at Harvard\u2019s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. \u201cIt\u2019s turning your Internet-of-things hub into a hidden service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security through Authentication<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Guardian Project not only hides a smart home from the internet\u2019s prying eyes, it also creates an extra level of protection through authentication. By downloading a \u201ccookie\u201d specifically configured to each individual smart home, only specific device can access the system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you add authentication, only people with this cookie can even connect to\u201d your smart home hub,\u201d explains Freitas. \u201cWithout it, Tor doesn\u2019t even let you route to that service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extra step is not necessarily easy or intuitive; Tor project executive director Shari Steele calls the configuration an \u201cearly but important milestone\u201d for smart home security.<\/p>\n

So far, the Guardian Project prototype has been tested on both a desktop using TorBrowser and through the Android Tor app Orbot. Though not particularly user-friendly, Tor developers home this first foray into smart home security will inspire commercial providers, like Samsung SmartThings, Google Home and Apple\u2019s Homekit, to use Tor\u2019s tech in future security innovations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tor Project wants Tor privacy technology to be integrated into everyday life,\u201d Steele writes in a statement to WIRED, so that \u201cprivacy and security are built in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Internet-of-Things promises convenience and efficiency, but without security protocols, any connected home could end up the victim of hackers and other cyber-crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":9539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,1593,966,196,76,1592],"class_list":["post-15819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-consumer-technology","tag-guardian-project","tag-smart-home","tag-smartphones","tag-technology-2","tag-tor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Internet-of-Things promises convenience and efficiency, but without security protocols, any connected home could end up the victim of hackers and other cyber-crime.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safer Smart Homes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Internet-of-Things promises convenience and efficiency, but without security protocols, any connected home could end up the victim of hackers and other cyber-crime.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/safer-smart-homes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-06T12:00:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-24T18:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/01\/smarthouse.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"485\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/safer-smart-homes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/safer-smart-homes\/\",\"name\":\"Safer Smart Homes - 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