Smart homes make it easy for hackers

SECURITY weaknesses in “smart home” devices such as light bulbs, power switches and webcams are putting consumers at risk of cyber attack and burglaries, researchers warn.

Tests on popular internetconnected products suggest many have loopholes that hackers could potentially exploit to snoop on personal information, guess when homes are empty, take control of devices, or plant malicious software to cause widespread web meltdowns.

Many manufacturers appeared to have rushed to market without ensuring devices are totally secure, a University of New South Wales and Australian Communications Consumer Action Network report warns. Engineering faculty re- searchers laboratory-tested 20 appliances including cameras, light bulbs, power switches, health monitors, a smart TV and a talking doll over the last year.

“Our tests were consistent and alarming. Every device we tested showed some form of vulnerability — many allowed potentially serious safety and security breaches,” the Inside Job: Security and Privacy Threats for IoT Devices report states.

Lead author Professor Vijay Sivaraman urged consumers to update product software if devices did not do this automatically, and to change default passwords after purchase.

It is estimated that the average Australian household already has 13 internet-connected devices. By 2021, a typical home is expected to have more than 30.