A security system at home is a very comforting notion, and it makes you feel safe and secure by letting you actively monitor your house and its surroundings. Unfortunately, along with the many benefits a security system offers, it has an equal number of disadvantages. Quite often, news headlines report security systems being hacked by strangers looking to profit in any way from the situation. While you cannot fully protect any device that’s connected to the internet from being hacked, there are several preventive measures that can be taken to protect your home.
Firstly, let’s talk about how exactly your security system can be hacked. There are two ways this can be done; locally and remotely.
To access a camera locally, the hacker needs to be in the compound of your property or within the range of the network your security system is connected to. Here, they can jam your network and access your system with the password they have already obtained, or by tricking it using their own tools.
A far more likely occurrence, however, would be remote hacking. Even if your security system is top-of-the-line, using the same password for multiple accounts puts your privacy at risk. If the credentials of one account is compromised on the internet, the holder of that data will also have access to your security system. This is why it’s vital to have different passwords for everything.
Now that we know how your data can be compromised, here’s how to prevent your system from being hacked.
Preventive Measures for Your Security System:
There are some basic measures such as smart password setting, ignoring suspicious emails and the like that are very fundamental and important for your privacy. These measures include:
Even with all these measures, it's possible that a hacker has slipped past your system and has access to your data. Here are some signs to watch out for so that you are alerted and can take measures against it:
Signs That You Have Been Hacked:
Now if you think you’ve been hacked already or suspect that somebody is attempting to hack into your system, unplug your security system from its main power source immediately. After changing your passwords on your security account, your router and any other possibly connected accounts, contact your local law enforcement as well as the manufacturer of your system so that they can take further action.