posted in Technology
Smart devices can testify against you: How home robot data is being used in court
www.the-independent.com/tech/robot-vacuum-fitbit-smart-device-data-trial-b3052060.html
Replying to @Mustachius_Grumpius@thelemmy.club
A smart home is in reality a vulnerable home, and a smart device a vulnerable device. Reduce their use as much as possible.
Replying to @susieq0044@sh.itjust.works
Smart home stuff can be done right.
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You need to focus on the use case. Is what it is doing actually necessary? E.g. smart lights are amazingly useful, smart washing machine? Why?!?
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The S in IoT stands for security. Smart devices need to be treated as security risks. Mine have their own WiFi to play on. They don’t get to play with my important devices. Also, internet access is a privilege, not a right. ZigBee is often superior to WiFi too. Control the bridge and you have absolute control of their internet access.
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Open source for the win. A lot of IoT options can run open source firmware. This helps break open the black boxes and let you see if they are doing bad things. Home assistant, EspHome, and Tasmota are the big 3 to look into.
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If you’re not the customer, you’re the product. Google etc sell smart speakers at a loss. If you must have them, treat them as actively hostile. I’m still trying to find a good alternative to some of their functions, but getting there.
Replying to @cynar@lemmy.world
I am stunned by the brilliance of this comment. I’m taking notes. Thank you @cynar@lemmy.world for sharing this.
Replying to @nkat2112@sh.itjust.works
I’ve been playing with my smart home for years now. I’m well past the “oh wow” honeymoon phase and into the “just do your job” phase.
I forgot to mention WAF, Wife Acceptance Factor. Any smart system should fall back to a dumb one, if something goes wrong. E.g. You should never require WiFi to turn your lights on. There should always be a switch that will just work. Central control computer crashes? The wife is annoyed the house is now just dumb, not that the house is now dead.
Replying to @cynar@lemmy.world
Thank you so much for that tip as well. You also have a great sense of humour, which I’m certain your wife appreciates! (Assuming the use of WAF was meant from your perspective - I apologise if I’m wrong.)
Replying to @nkat2112@sh.itjust.works
A bit of both. It’s a mindset that keeps me from doing anything too stupid, and a good one to pass on to others. I can play around, so long as I don’t make her life harder.
It mostly stops me putting brittle, or janky setups into use. I need to actually streamline and ruggedise them. I benefit from that too, in the long run.
One of the reasons I bought the (smart) car charger i did was because it supports OCPP (open Charge Point Protocol) and a vendor-provided secondary firmware that more easily supports OCPP (and the ability to rent out your charger to people on the network).