Page 209 - Cyber Defense eMagazine April 2023

Going On the Defensive: Turning the Tide on The

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities of Smart Home

Devices With Value-Added Services
By Craig Thole, SVP, Product Development and Operations at Assurant, Inc.

While the rise of internet-enabled smart home devices generates the opportunity to create an advanced, intuitive
smart home ecosystem, at the same time their arrival also creates the conditions for more security vulnerabilities
within the connected home. This fact isn’t lost on consumers: according to Assurant and Parks Associates’ most
recent white paper – ‘Protect the Connected Home: Home security Meets Personal Privacy’ – 72 percent of
consumers are now preoccupied with the security of their smart home products and their network in general. With
news of hacks and unauthorised access to personal data increasingly fueling consumer concerns about the inherent
vulnerabilities of connected devices and systems, many are left wondering what options are available to allow them
to prioritise their household’s data security and privacy. Consumers want to know that their homes and families are
safe from intruders (both physical and virtual) and that their digital identities and personal data cannot be
compromised and will remain out of the hands of nefarious actors.

Against the backdrop of an ever-evolving and dynamic threat landscape, consumers might now be persuaded to
turn their attention towards the personal-data privacy solutions and security service options that deliver the most
advanced safeguarding and home monitoring systems. In the last few years, reported instances of smart home
attacks have seen hackers remotely controlling smart lights and smart TVs, unlocking IoT enabled doors, and

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