Serious question, has anyone else had their smart home turn against them?

I was working from my apartment in Denver last Tuesday when my smart lights started flashing on and off. Then my thermostat shot up to 90 degrees. I checked my router logs and saw over 200 login attempts from an IP in a country I've never visited. I had to pull the plug on everything, factory reset my router, and set up a separate guest network just for my smart devices. It took me about three hours to get everything secure again. What's the best way to lock down a smart home setup without making it a pain to use?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninah101mo agoMost Upvoted

Separating your smart devices onto a guest network is the right first step. You should also turn off universal plug and play on your router and set strong, unique passwords for every device account, not just the wifi. Most people get hacked through reused passwords.

dakota1601mo ago

How many people actually use unique passwords for each smart device account?

the_joseph2d ago

My parents had all their smart bulbs on the same password they used for their Netflix account. Got their whole Amazon account compromised in like two hours. I get the idea behind unique passwords for each device, but honestly who is actually doing that for a lightbulb or a plug? The guest network thing is solid though, that at least keeps the bad guys from jumping to your laptop if they break into your toaster. I just think we need to be realistic about what average people will actually do. Telling someone to manage 30 different passwords for their thermostat and doorbell is asking for trouble.