Smart or Vulnerable?

Smart home devices are becoming ever more prevalent. They’re convenient and help us go about our daily lives. However, it shouldn’t be overlooked that criminals are utilising smart home devices to exploit individuals with them. The network that connects smart homes in the U.S., U.K., and China are connected to an external network, and if your router doesn’t have the proper security then you’re majorly at risk for a hacker.

“PERSONAL DATA CAN BE PURCHASED WITHIN THE RANGE OF $0.20 TO $15.00"
Source: https://www.rsa.com/content/dam/premium/en/white-paper/2018-current-state-of-cybercrime.pdf

Eccleasistical have establsihed that just under half (46%) of Brits have a smart home device, with the average owner having three devices connected within their homes. Smart TVs (56%), smart speakers (41%) and smart heating systems (20%) are the top three devices found in people’s homes.

While smart devices may offer ease and convenience, it’s important that home owners consider the risks and take steps to protect themselves.   All connected devices in the home access the internet through a common point, the router. There is an assumption that they are always secure, but in reality this is not always the case; many of the popular routers have vulnerabilities. For example, if a hacker can log onto your Wi-Fi network, they can access all Wi-Fi run devices in the home and monitor your web traffic.  

“ANDROID PLATFORMS ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO CYBER SECURITY ATTACKS"
Source: https://www.agcs.allianz.com/insights/expert-risk-articles/risk-future-cyber/

TIPS: You can protect yourself and your family by taking simple steps like changing the default passwords on your smart home devices.
 

Other areas to consider include:

• Change the name of your home Wi-Fi to something random such as a combination of two words
• Change the password on the back of your router and admin password 
• Use different passwords for different devices 
• Keep devices connected to different networks where possible and set up a guest network for friends and visitors to use 
• Don’t log onto public Wi-Fi when controlling your smart home devices remotely  
• Disable remote access on your smart devices so no one else can access them remotely 
• If you’re concerned your device has recorded something private, check and delete recordings e.g. via the Amazon Echo app
• Have two-factor authentication on your devices where available as an extra layer of security especially when transferring money – even to known companies. 

Research has revealed the majority of Brits don’t trust smart home devices.

The research was commissioned by Ecclesiastical and conducted by Censuswide, with 2,012 adults aged 18+ between 10 and 12 July 2019.

Hiscox Spotlight on Cyber

“2019 was a busy year in the world of cyber. Claims volumes increased by almost 50%, with the team handling more than 300 new cyber claims. Last year saw a real resurgence in ransomware claims. Ransomware attacks (where cyber criminals encrypt a business’ IT systems and demand a ransom for a key to decrypt them) had been our biggest cause of loss in 2017, but dropped the following year with the emergence of business email compromise (where cyber criminals hack into email accounts, usually to divert financial payments) claims. It was back with a bang in 2019 though. This was not just a UK trend 

Not all insurance policies cover Cyber and not all incidents will be covered but R K Harrison in association with Hiscox are trying to educate their clients in understanding some of the risks facing them in this new technological age.

The amount of malware (malicious software) installed on Android platforms has increased by 400%. Part of the problem is the fact that individuals are much more relaxed when it comes to their smartphones than their computers. While 72 percent of users have free antivirus software on their laptop computer, only 50 percent have any kind of protection on their phone. Bear in mind, this is dangerous because mobile devices are now handheld personal assistants. They’re used to track everything from work-related information to family and friends to health information to finances. They’re a one-size-fits-all gadget and if any phones are the victim of cybercrime then all of that data becomes accessible to the hacker.

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