- The smart homes are already here and are getting more intelligent by the day
- IoT security was sacrificed for deployment speed
- Consumers need to look for ISPs that can protect their cyberhomes
The future of smart homes is already here, and consumers might not even be aware. The problem is that homes are a lot less secure than they should be, and regular consumers are almost powerless to do anything about it. In this situation, ISPs hold most of the power.
People would have considered the idea of smart homes too futuristic a couple of decades ago, but we have movies and TV shows to thank for the unrealistic expectations they set. It’s easy to imagine a smart home as some AI running the house, and that could be real someday, but there are many steps to take before we get there.
Until then, the concept of the smart home is driven by the almighty Internet of Things, a collection of Internet-connected devices that’s slowly expanding to cover ever-decreasing niches. Today, a fully equipped smart home will have security cameras, smart locks, intelligent speakers, thermostats, media players, game consoles, and more. By all definitions, that’s an intelligent house, although consumers are still waiting for that smart home to arrive.
Smart also means vulnerable
Unfortunately, the speed at which consumer IoT devices arrived on the market (and still do) is only possible because companies sacrifice security and support. And when those two go out the window, consumers pay the price.
This security problem only means that smart devices increase user comfort and the number of possible attack vectors at the same time. With every new IoT device added to the household, threat actors have an extra possible way into the user’s infrastructure.
The fact that most people already have a smart home but are not aware comes with a corollary. They also don’t know how dangerous IoT devices can be in the wrong hands. Devices riddled with vulnerabilities, like routers, can be easily compromised and enrolled into world-wide botnets that can launch DDOS attacks on businesses and online services.
The power of consumers
Consumers have only a couple of tools at their disposal to keep their houses safe. First of all, all IoT devices need the latest updates to eliminate as many vulnerabilities as possible.
Secondly, if consumers want privacy, they have to look for an ISP provider that can provide it. Imagine having an ISP-issued router in your house that can detect vulnerabilities in devices connected to it or stop a DDOS attack coming from a media player.
What people don’t know is that ISPs have a lot of power because it’s their network. Just like a regular user lords over his LAN network, ISPs do the same thing. But if they choose a smart solution, such as the Bitdefender IoT Security Platform, many new options are available to them.
Since the software has a very low hardware footprint, it’s platform-agnostic and can run on existing routers. An ISP that lets customers protect their IoT devices will also discover that its network is safer. The technology stops DDOS attacks in their tracks, and the company doesn’t have to worry about development costs, not to mention that it stands out from competitors.
The Bitdefender IoT Security Platform comes with a host of other essential functions, such as Total Security, VPN, parental control, brute force protection, and much more. There are around 21 billion IoT devices right now, and that number will hit 41 billion by 2025. Responsible ISPs have to recognize the existing problem and prepare for a future that can be much worse if providers don’t take active measures.