Smart Home Security: How Cameras, Smart Plugs and Speakers Become a Hole in Your Home Network, and How to Protect Them

An ordinary flat today may have more than a dozen "smart" devices: cameras, baby monitors, video doorbells, plugs, bulbs, voice-assistant speakers, a robot vacuum, an air conditioner, a TV. Each of them is a small computer connected to your network and the internet. But unlike a laptop, they're rarely updated, often have weak passwords, and few people keep an eye on their security. Let's look at the risks a smart home brings and how to set it up so that convenience doesn't turn into video leaking from the nursery or the whole home network being compromised.

Why smart devices are vulnerable

• Default passwords. Many cameras and video recorders ship with passwords like "admin" or "12345", and users don't change them.
• No updates. Cheap devices from little-known brands are updated rarely or never, so discovered vulnerabilities stay open forever.
• Open ports. To view a camera from a phone, people often open ports on the router, making the device reachable from the whole internet.
• Cloud accounts. Devices are accessed through the manufacturer's cloud services; a weak account password without two-factor protection opens up everything.
• One network for everything. A hacked camera sits on the same network as your laptop with its banking details.

The real risks

• Spying. There are websites streaming footage from thousands of unprotected cameras, including from flats and nurseries.
• Botnets. Hacked cameras and routers are used en masse to attack websites; their owners don't know, and their internet slows down.
• A foothold for attack. Through a vulnerable device an attacker can get further into the home or office network.
• Physical security. Smart locks, alarms and door cameras — if they're hacked, it becomes a question of home security.
• Data collection. Some devices send manufacturers more information than they need to work.

How to protect your smart home

1. Change all default passwords — on the devices themselves, the recorders and in the apps.
2. Turn on two-factor authentication for the cloud accounts of cameras, locks and voice assistants.
3. Update device and app firmware; turn on automatic updates where available.
4. Move the smart home onto a separate network — a guest or IoT network isolated from computers and phones.
5. Don't open router ports for cameras and recorders. Use the manufacturer's official apps or a VPN into your home network.
6. Turn off UPnP on the router if you don't need it: through it, devices open ports to the outside by themselves.
7. Choose well-known brands with regular updates and a clear security policy.
8. Remove devices from your account when you sell or discard them, and reset them to factory settings.

Cameras and baby monitors — special attention

Cameras pointed inside the home are the most sensitive devices. If you need them, choose models with encrypted video, the option of storing recordings locally, a physical lens cover or a privacy mode for when you're at home. CCTV recorders must not be directly reachable from the internet. It's also important to check who has access to the cameras in the app: former tenants, relatives and previous installers often remain on the list.

A smart home in a short-let flat

If you let your property, remember that guests are on the same network. The smart lock, door cameras and router must be on a separate network that guests can't reach. Cameras inside a short-let home are unacceptable — booking platforms' rules say so explicitly.

Signs a device has been hacked

• The camera turns by itself, the recording light comes on, or sounds come from its speaker.
• Settings or the password have changed, though you didn't change anything.
• The internet has slowed, and the router shows heavy outgoing traffic from one device.
• Unknown users or devices have appeared in your account.

In that case, disconnect the device from the network, change your account passwords, reset the device to factory settings and update the firmware before reconnecting it.

What our technician does

1. Makes an inventory of all the smart devices on your network and checks their settings.
2. Changes default passwords, updates firmware and sets up two-factor protection on accounts.
3. Creates a separate network for the smart home and isolates it from your computers.
4. Closes unnecessary ports and UPnP and sets up secure remote access to cameras.
5. Installs and sets up CCTV systems with security in mind.

A real example

A family in Vake installed an inexpensive Wi-Fi camera in the nursery to keep an eye on their baby. One night a stranger's voice came from its speaker. Our technician found that the camera was running with its default password, its firmware hadn't been updated since release, and UPnP was enabled on the router, letting the camera open a port to the internet by itself. We replaced the camera with a model from a well-known maker with encryption and two-factor protection, turned off UPnP, moved all the smart devices onto a separate network and changed the passwords. The family now views the camera through the official app, and it can't be reached from outside.

Call a technician

If you'd like your smart home, cameras or CCTV set up securely, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our CCTV, router setup and Wi-Fi setup pages.