With the push of a button, you can turn on your lights, remotely lock your front door, and even change the temperature in your home.
However, according to a recent study from the University of Georgia, convenience can compromise your personal security.
The study concentrated on smart home hubs, centralized device that allows you to easily control all of your connected gadgets. These hubs depend on technology to connect to the internet, but not your particular smart gadgets.
“The good thing is all traffic to and from a smart home hub is encrypted. The bad thing is that we were able … to figure out what much of the activity is without even having to decrypt the information.” —Kyu Lee, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences”
This is significant since, in theory, the hubs make utilizing smart devices safer. Cybercriminals have in the past gained access to internet-connected baby monitors or smart cameras in people’s homes, allowing them to keep tabs on their target’s whereabouts.
A device that is not Wi-Fi enabled cannot be hacked. However, ChatterHub, a technology created by UGA researchers, can nearly always successfully reveal the online behaviour of different smart hubs.
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