security

Your Smart Devices Are Less Secure Than You Think: Research – Northeastern University


Our homes are getting smarter every day. The next time you buy a toaster, fridge or dishwasher, setup might involve connecting to your home WiFi network and downloading an app on your phone. 

But such interconnectivity comes with risk, says David Choffnes, associate professor of computer sciences at Northeastern University. 

“We are moving from this idea where the walls of our home are our private space to now the spaces within the walls have all these devices that communicate over the internet,” Choffnes says.

Headshot of David Choffnes
Assistant professor David Choffnes. Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Ideally, smart home gadgets, otherwise known as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, make people’s lives easier. Tasks like setting the thermostat, making your morning coffee or ordering new ink for your printer could be easily automated or completed via your smartphone with some of these products.  

“(But) when these things communicate, either with each other or over the internet, they do so in a way that we can’t see,” Choffnes says. 

Some of these devices are sharing out their location, which in turn allows other devices within their local network to locate them, Choffnes says. A local network in this context means a group of connected devices within a specific location like a house. 

“They’re also sending out other pieces of information that are unique to the home, meaning that even if you try your best to preserve your privacy, turn off tracking on your phone, whether its iOS and Android, all of these mechanisms that you put in place to your protect yourself can fall apart,” Choffnes says. 

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“Trackers online can tell who you are by the collection of devices in your home because that’s going to be unique to you,” he adds. 





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