The focus, before COVID, used to be mostly on office networks since that’s what used to be the working hub for all employees. Whilst many organizations still continue doing their business within the office premises, there are many others that have offered their employees the option of working from home. It has resulted in the increase in awareness about protecting the devices in your home since hackers have switched their focus on such targets.
One of the reasons that experts have started worrying more about security vulnerabilities is that individual users do not pay attention to cybersecurity the way that organizations do. Now imagine, if hackers are still able to launch malware and phishing attacks on many companies despite they have their own cybersecurity teams, then how risky is it for you if you leave your systems unprotected? And if you think it’s just the work related system that’s at the risk of getting hacked, then you’re wrong. If a hacker is able to target the devices and tools like the router that you use, then each and every device in your house running on that router will be hacked. In other words, you can end up losing your personal money. And in many cases, even your identity can be stolen and your location can be compromised as well. Which is why you need to first know about all the devices that hackers can target in your home and then the ways in which you can protect those devices.
Let’s start with the hackable devices.
- IoT devices like mobiles, tablets, and IPads and smart devices like smart bulbs, smart TV, even smart doorbells and Google home.
- Infrastructure devices that include the router and also the Wi-Fi repeaters and extenders.
- Computers and laptops.
- Gaming devices like Xbox and PlayStations.
- NAS devices.
These are the recognized home devices that you must secure in some of the best cybersecurity techniques as suggested by experts. Those are as follows.
- Every single file in the computer or any other device is a software. Even your firewall is a software. And every software has bugs. So, always install the updates that are made available from time to time since the new versions do not have bugs that have been identified.
- Use strong passwords for all the 5 kinds of home devices listed above. Also, do not use the same password.
- Make sure you install the router updates manually since the updates for the router will not pop-up automatically.
- Make a separate Wi-Fi network for guests.
These simple practices will take you a long way in protecting your devices from getting hacked.
