How Safe Is Your Connected Home?

‘Security experts are both thrilled and anxious about the internet of things (IoT), the ever-growing collection of smart electronic gadgets that interact with the world around them. It includes devices like internet-connected garage door openers, refrigerators you can text to see if you’re low on milk and tennis rackets that offer tips on a better backhand — even smart sex toys. The technology research firm Gartner estimates that 6.4 billion such IoT devices were connected online in 2016, and that number doesn’t include smartphones, tablets or laptops.
But buyer beware: Smart devices prize convenience and novelty, not security. “The challenge with IoT is that the market is so enthusiastic right now — connected devices are super cool,” says Ted Harrington, a San Diego-based partner at Independent Security Evaluators, the company that first hacked an iPhone in 2007. “The problem is that this enthusiasm is really overshadowing the security challenges.”’
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