Smart home technology and unpredictable hazards

IoT devices in general and smart houses in particular are increasingly favored and widely used all over the world. AI devices that support AI like Amazon Echo or Google Home are one of the most sought after 'technology toys' in the past - a trend that speaks of growing popularity and the necessity of smart home technology for a more comfortable life. But are smart home appliances only containing benefits? Can they harm human life? All the most modern technology can be turned into a double-edged sword if not controlled and used properly. Smart home appliances are not outside of that fact, just a matter of time, before our smart home becomes so 'smart' that it goes beyond the necessary benefits of people themselves. .

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Smart home technology is becoming more and more popular

According to experts, the smart home market in one of the pioneering countries in this technology, the United States, has reached a value of about $ 24.1 billion in 2016, and is expected to rise. to 53.45 billion dollars in the coming 2022. Thus, there will be 7 million households (equivalent to about 55% of total households) in the United States owning one or several smart home devices such as smart home speakers and other utility products. installed in their living space in 2022

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1. The alarming increase in the number of attacks targeted at IoT devices

In addition, according to a separate study, 54% of US consumers said they plan to buy some smart home device next year. Most of the consumers asked have owned at least one smart home device at the present time, and the only major barrier for them is the price issue.

So the results of the surveys are perfectly reasonable, because when technology companies achieve economies of scale and can make policies to lower their product prices to a more reasonable level, one New industries like the already vibrant smart home will now see a new wave of huge consumption. And once the majority of American households, or more widely around the world, already own smart home technology in their living space, then it would be too late to judge and make recommendations. solution to disable unpredictable hazards from these modern connected devices. So what kind of hazards can humanity face when smart home devices are used too widely? We will find out later.

Network security threats

As mentioned, smart home devices are basically IoT products, so all will be connected to the internet via wifi network or mobile connection. Meanwhile, there is a fundamental thing that anyone can grasp, is that any device connected to the network is at risk of being the target of attacks in the virtual world. Thus, it can be seen that network security and consequences are the first and the most important factor to mention when mentioning the dangers of smart home technology. This will be a problem that network security experts and smart home users must pay attention to right now.

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According to estimates from Rambus, more than 80% of IoT devices being used worldwide are now vulnerable to a variety of network attacks, ranging from simple to extremely complex. Connecting these devices together - what most people do in a smart home - turns out to be a form of amplifying network security risks by creating an 'address' Hackers can use it to attack the device as well as violate your privacy or steal your data. To understand it simply, think of this situation as a domino 'flow'. When a device is successfully compromised, other devices connected to it can easily become the next target, people will come to the 'collapse' of the entire system. Operator rights are one of the most popular smart home devices.

'These attacks are relatively difficult to detect because the attacker does not change or interfere with any of the basic functions of the device. Moreover, hackers only lost a single device to be able to penetrate and infect all other devices in the smart home network of "miserable owners." For example, an attacker initially, just how to gain control over the intelligent thermostat, from there, he can access the entire network, then gather information or change the hidden PIN perfectly. on that system, 'explained Rambus experts.

Other common network security threats to smart home systems can be mentioned as man-in-the-middle attacks, distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS). ) and permanent service rejection (PDoS). These attacks can lead to personal data being stolen and even losing physical privacy (for devices containing cameras or recording microphones).

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Privacy threat

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Speaking of microphones, this is one of the concerns particularly concerning smart speaker devices that support AI virtual assistants like Amazon Echo or Google Home. To respond to user requests, these devices will be awakened by some suggested words, such as 'Hey, Google' or 'Alexa'. In order to be able to immediately identify these suggested words as soon as the user dictates, smart speaker devices must always be in the state of 'listening', while the microphone on the device will always be active and Record all sounds around. And while manufacturers claim that there will be absolutely no sound recorded until the suggested word is given, the authenticity of these claims is difficult to prove. After all kinds of alarming scandals about users' privacy being seriously violated in the technology sector around the world over time, skepticism in the technology consumer community is in place. The highest level ever, and many people have to wonder if they are 'sacrificing' their privacy in exchange for new technological gadgets such as voice commands? In my opinion this is too obvious, in return, perhaps we should question whether those utilities are worth the exchange of personal data risks!

Stories related to personal privacy and smart home devices are not uncommon. In it, the situation in which a woman named Danielle, living in Portland, Oregon, and the United States, has left many questions worth pondering. Accordingly, there were a few private conversations between Danielle and her unidentified husband who were randomly emailed to some of her other colleagues - a disastrous incident. Shortly thereafter, there was a report saying that groups of employees and contractors at Amazon were tasked with listening to everyday conversations - up to 1,000 conversations per shift - with customer names and serial numbers. -ri devices and Amazon account numbers are retrieved from Amazon Echo smart devices (among the recordings reviewed by Amazon employees, there are even quite 'bad' situations) 'Like having a woman sing while taking a bath, a child screaming in the room and even a sound seems to come from a sexual assault.

Although both Amazon and Google continue to offer relatively similar releases regarding anonymous information and recordings processed at a high level of security, there is a reason to worry about privacy in this case. Of course, it is not always possible for Amazon Echo or Google Home to be "useless" or condemned. In 2016, a man in Arkansas was arrested for killing you in his own home. Unfortunately for the killer, the sound of the whole scuffle was captured by the Amazon Echo smart speaker in the victim's home, and this recording was later provided as evidence to accuse the villain at the trial. However, this has also led to fierce controversy about privacy - even in your home - that is no longer respected.

Catastrophic

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At this point, we simply don't have enough evidence or 'historical documents' to know what the full effects of smart home technology and connected devices really are. When devices become smart and come with many more complex functions, every potential threat they can cause will increase.

More and more 'smart' kitchen appliances are available, they can be connected to smartphones and remotely controlled via a special application on smartphones. For a simple example, a modern oven can now be turned on - off remotely via a connected app on the smartphone. It's convenient, but what happens when no one is home to check the oven after it is turned on? What happens in the event of a short burst, fire? What if you get a call from a loved one going out to dinner and forgetting that the oven has been turned on? So can it be said that a smart oven is a device that increases the risk of fire?

Of course these hypothetical situations are not always possible, but they are worthwhile to dissect and discuss the so-called dangers from smart home devices. In fact, the main but unintended consequences are the ones that can leave the greatest damage. Sometimes we only really realize the danger when it has caused serious consequences.

Looking for a balanced solution

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Smart home technology is not worth being spurned. In fact, smart home devices were created to serve people's lives and in some respects they were able to handle this 'mission'. Thus, the problem here is not to prohibit or turn away from this potential technology field, but instead, find a way to balance between the convenience of technology and privacy / privacy, as well as general safety.

At the present time, it's hard to point out clearly what the right balance is, especially when the new smart home technology is in its infancy. However, there is a need for greater transparency from manufacturers and service providers on the device side. At the same time, higher responsibility from users is also a necessity. Everyone should know how to protect their own interests and interests before looking forward to measures from authorities or service providers. There is a sentence 'wait and then the cheek is swollen'.

What do you think about smart home issues and the unpredictable dangers that this technology can contain? Please leave a comment below!