Enemy At The Gates

AS CYBER ATTACKS BECOME MORE INTRUSIVE AND INTENSE, OWNERS OF IoT DEVICES AND CONNECTED HOMES MUST STEP UP THEIR DIGITAL DEFENCE.

- Venkat Krishnapur

AMERICAN DRAMA thriller Mr. Robot, in which the protagonist is a cybersecurity engineer and hacker, has rather terrifyingly shown us what it is like to lose control of your smart home. By turning technology against you, the episode titled Smart Home Hack depicts everything which can go wrong with a connected home – a linked thermostat that fails, a shower that gushes boiling water and alarm bells which seem to have a mind of their own. Only a decade ago, the idea of controlling your home’s refrigerators, cameras, cars, networking devices, and security and entertainment systems remotely, via smartphones, would have been considered sci-fi stuff. Fast forward to 2019 and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) have created a connected ecosystem that enables easy access to consumer devices through a wireless network.

India is not far behind when it comes to smart living. In fact, some experts think that by 2025, average Indian households could be connected to some extent as electricity and data are now easily accessible. However, Indian users are yet to fully adopt IoT devices and solutions due to prevalent privacy and security concerns. No one is really sure whether our ‘connected’ lifestyle is safe from cybersabotage.

Threats and Solutions