3 Reasons Why Your Smart Home Devices Need a VPN
The internet has evolved from a source of information to a vital tool that influences almost every part of our everyday lives. The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing the way we do almost everything, and our homes are no different. Smart homes are unquestionably the future!
If you’re new to the term IoT, it refers to the vast array of internet-connected devices that we can purchase to assist us in our day-to-day tasks. On the other hand, the term Smart Home refers to the IoT gadgets that we utilize in our homes. Almost any modern-day device can now access the internet, from bulbs and cameras to beyond.
This opens up a plethora of opportunities but also various threats as well. Therefore, you must take the necessary precautions by allocating the best proxies to your smart home, which is where a VPN comes into play. Read on to learn more:
Why Should You Use a VPN for Your Smart Devices?
As convenient as smart home devices are, they pose serious risks to your privacy and security. We’ve highlighted them below for your better understanding.
Your Device(s) Are Prone to Getting Hacked
It may seem improbable that hackers would want to break into your smart doorbell. However, when you realize that your house alarm and other items are all connected to one network, the potential for cybercriminals to cause damage becomes clearer. Numerous instances have been reported of thieves stealing vehicles by hacking into their computer systems.
Access to anything you do online at home can also be gained by hacking into a comparatively small gadget. As a result, your internet banking, shopping patterns, and other sensitive information might end up in the hands of someone who has hacked into, let’s suppose, your smart refrigerator.
Cybercriminals Can Collect Data on You
In addition to the danger of losing online banking information to hackers, there are additional privacy hazards associated with IoT devices. Since they’ve become a part of our everyday lives, the data collected by them can be used to create a highly thorough and accurate picture of our lives.
It’s quite possible to utilize information from IoT devices to determine when individuals enter and exit the house, what activities they indulge in at home, and even where they go when outdoors. People’s homes are intended to be a safe haven where they can unwind and do whatever they want in peace. An unprotected IoT network jeopardizes this by technically deploying surveillance devices in every area of the house.
You Could Be Under Surveillance
Certain IoT gadgets may pose even more visible privacy threats than data collection. Whether placed inside or outside your home, CCTV cameras can be hacked to see what you’re doing. There have also been multiple reports of baby monitors being hacked, enabling hackers to observe and even engage with kids in their bedrooms.
And it’s a well-known fact that accessing the cameras embedded into all smartphones, tablets, and laptops these days is rather simple. In addition, personal assistant devices like Google’s Home, Apple’s HomePod, and Amazon Echo are all the rage lately.
By scattering these gadgets across our homes, we’re putting active cameras and microphones in every room and assuming that they’ll only work when we turn them on. However, a growing body of research shows they are not and that we are assisting large tech corporations, governments, and hackers in surveilling us even while we sleep.
How to Secure Your Smart Home Devices with a VPN
Since the risks of being connected to the internet are as high as they’ve ever been, and IoT device makers are not fulfilling their security duties, it is up to the consumers themselves to guarantee that their smart home is safe and their family’s privacy and security is protected.
Users of computers and smartphones are accustomed to purchasing security software in order to protect themselves. However, because IoT devices lack the same degree of user interface, it’s not always obvious how to safeguard them.
A VPN is the ideal solution for keeping your IoT devices and smart home secure. To safeguard everything, however, you must install the VPN directly onto your Wi-Fi router. A VPN works by encrypting all of your internet data and then routing it via an external server to anonymize it before sending it to its destination.
By putting a VPN on a router, you ensure the security of your whole Wi-Fi network. Every device that connects to your Wi-Fi is instantly secured using top-of-the-line encryption, and all data is routed through the VPN’s external server. Because IoT devices have to be connected to your Wi-Fi network to function effectively, this also applies to them, which means that everything in your smart home is going to be safeguarded with a VPN.