Smart home Smart home

Smart Home ("smart home") is any system of home devices that can communicate via the Internet with the owner and among themselves, perform actions and solve certain everyday tasks without human participation. Such a system of smart devices (IoT devices, or IoT) scales from several sensors to a full-fledged ecosystem.

The number of smart devices is constantly growing. IoT elements include refrigerators, kettles and vacuum cleaners. The most common in everyday life, already in Russia, examples of automatic actions in a typical "smart home" are automatic turning on and off of the light, automatic correction of the operation of the heating system or air conditioner, as well as smart alarm, that is, automatic notification of an invasion, fire or leak.

All smart home devices can be connected into a single system, and that, in turn, must be connected to your smartphone and computer. Thus, if a hacker or virus managed to penetrate anywhere through vulnerabilities, they are highly likely to be able to capture all other devices along the chain.

Smart Home Systems (Markets World and Russia)

• Smart Home Systems (Global Market)
• Smart Home Systems (Russian Market)

Smart heating

Main article: Smart heating

2024

The ability to hack with a Philips light bulb

At the end of October 2024, new vulnerabilities were discovered in Philips smart bulbs and the Matrix Door door controller, allowing hackers to hack smart homes. Read more here

Huawei released a sensor that recognizes the fall of a person in the house

In early June 2024, Huawei introduced a new gadget that will help the elderly in emergency situations. A sensor with artificial intelligence is able to recognize a person's fall and report it to relatives or rescue services. Read more here.

Huawei started selling modular smart homes driven by branded OS

Huawei has unveiled its new product, modular smart homes. This was reported on May 15, 2024 by the publication PassionGeekz. Read more here.

5 top smart home trends named

As AI technology and data sharing capabilities evolve, the smart home concept is becoming more common. The use of home automation provides a more comfortable lifestyle, as well as improves security. Users are able to remotely interact with equipment in a smart home through voice commands in natural language, adjusting lighting, temperature, etc. In early January 2024, GM Modular named five top trends in the smart home industry.

Energy Reduction Tools

Smart home devices offer special features that greatly simplify energy savings. For example, lighting systems independently reduce brightness or turn off when there are no people in the room. In addition, the inhabitants of a smart house can adjust the schedule of lighting fixtures according to their personal needs and preferences, thereby optimizing energy consumption. The introduction of energy efficient gadgets for the smart home also reduces the negative impact on the environment and reduces emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere.

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Voice Control Systems

Home automation tools with voice control allow you to interact with equipment through simple commands. A wide variety of equipment can be controlled with voice, from lighting systems and climatic installations to smart speakers and video surveillance systems. Intelligent devices use natural language processing algorithms and machine learning technologies to efficiently recognize commands. Voice-controlled devices can contact other smart devices and various web platforms: thanks to this, through a smart speaker, you can, for example, order food from an online store.

Integration of artificial intelligence

GM Modular notes that AI tools make people's lives even more convenient and efficient. AI-powered virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant have become commonplace in many homes: They can respond to queries and provide the right information, as well as control other smart gadgets. Going forward, AI is expected to start playing a bigger role in terms of home automation. The dwelling will be able to study the habits and needs of the inhabitants in order to create an ideal atmosphere.

Biometrics and Improved Security Systems

Biometrics technologies, as noted by GM Modular, are penetrating deeper into the daily life of users. Such tools allow you to identify guests and provide access to the house to authorized users by fingerprints. Face recognition tools and retinal scanners integrate into door locks and access control systems, increasing the level of security.

Technology Enhancement [[Internet of Things (IoT)|Internet of Things (IoT)]]]]

According to the authors of the study, IoT technologies will penetrate deeper into the home automation ecosystem. This will allow you to remotely interact with a wide variety of equipment - from thermostats and lighting fixtures to washing machines and refrigerators. Thus, residents will be able to solve the main household tasks through a smartphone application. The introduction of IoT technologies into the home automation process, the researchers say, offers "limitless opportunities to create a truly connected and personalized life environment."^[1]

Smart buildings that save energy and help people with health needs

Intelligent technologies in buildings that automate processes from ventilation to alarm, make staying in them more comfortable and safer, and at the same time help solve global problems, for example, to reduce electricity consumption and create an inclusive environment - this is what makes them increasingly in demand in modern society, robotics engineer Sergei Voverikhin, technical director of Sophie, who has been successfully automating processes both in residential buildings and in production for more than 20 years, is convinced. His unique experience became the main author's project of the "smart home" using artificial intelligence and self-learning systems. About the benefits and social effects of modern technologies for housing and production - in an interview with Sergei Voverikhin.

2021

Yandex joins the development of a single protocol for the smart home Matter

On November 23, 2021, Yandex joined the international working group on the development of Matter - a single protocol for the smart home. This protocol will unify smart home systems, make them more accessible and user-friendly. Read more here.

97% of buyers would like their new housing to be equipped with "smart" filling

Rubetek, a Russian manufacturer of IoT solutions, and BEST-Novostroy, one of the companies in the real estate market, summed up a joint study aimed at finding out whether the presence of a "smart" filling affects the final choice of the housing project by the buyer. This was announced on August 31, 2021 by Rubetek.

The survey was conducted among Russians aged 18 and 65, among whom 72% of respondents consider buying an apartment in the short or medium term. Almost all respondents (97%) reported that they would like their new housing to be equipped with "smart" filling to one degree or another. 45% would prefer apartments and public places to be equipped with a full-fledged ecosystem of smart home devices, 34% would like a number of specific tasks to be solved with the help of smart gadgets, such as climate management. Another 18% believe housing should only be equipped with critically needed safety products, such as fire, leak or gas sensors. And only 3% believe that the presence of such products is an excess.

At the same time, 32% of respondents say with confidence that the presence of a "smart home" system in an apartment and public places will become a significant factor for them when choosing housing. And 46% of respondents noted that the presence of such a system will be a determining factor in the choice of housing, all other things being equal.

Talking about a typical set of "smart" products for city apartments, Russians give the first place to emergency sensors (leaks, fires, smoke, etc.), 88% of respondents spoke in favor of this product, 73% of the votes were given to sensors for monitoring the consumption of electricity, heating, water and gas, as well as automatic fire alarm: 70% of votes for video surveillance and climate control. 64% of respondents would also prefer to see an access control and control system (IP-intercom) in a typical package, and 66% - light control. Less often, respondents chose products such as air quality control, management of household appliances and electrical appliances, voice control, a system for recognizing parking spaces and license plates.

Speaking about the parameters of the smart home system, which are most important, 72% of Russians note the importance of ease of installation, in second place is the lack of additional boards (65% of votes), 49% of respondents also preferred the possibility of scaling, 34% - the presence of cloud functionality. The least attention, only 10% of the vote, is paid to the country-manufacturer of smart home products.

Survey participants were also asked to estimate how much they are ready to overpay for an apartment in which the smart home ecosystem is installed. Thus, 35% of respondents are ready for overpayment in the amount of 50,000 rubles to 200,000. 27% - from 10 to 50,000 rubles, 13% - up to 10,000 rubles. 9% of Russians are ready to pay over 200,000 rubles for such a "smart" filling. But 16% are not ready for overpayments.

Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of respondents would support the initiative to create uniform standards for developers in equipping new residential projects with smart home systems. 24% of Russians agree with this unconditionally, 26% with the amendment that the initiative should take into account the class of housing. 14% believe that this should apply only to entrance groups and common areas. 11% worry that such an innovation can significantly affect the total cost of housing. But 24% of Russians believe that equipping apartments is a personal matter for owners, not a developer.

32% of survey participants said that they have experience in using individual products, and another 10% are active users of the smart home ecosystem. 39% noted that they have an idea of ​ ​ the purpose of such devices and are interested in their functionality, but have not yet used them. Only 19% of Russians had no experience of interacting with "smart" gadgets.

According to our observations, first of all, for August 2021, the most in demand are those elements of the "smart home" system that allow more efficient use of energy resources and thereby save on expenses, as well as increasing the safety of their housing, "said Irina Dobrokhotova, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BEST-Novostroy. - Among our buyers, projects where developers introduce a whole package of smart technologies, both in the engineering equipment of common areas and in the apartments themselves, really cause great interest among lovers of "smart homes." Thanks to the modern system, residents get access to a digital platform that monitors the consumption of all energy resources, there are also additional options for voice and mobile control of individual systems, keyless access and much more.

Cloud technologies and the Internet of Things are beneficial for all participants in the housing and communal services market, - said Anton Maltsev, founder of rubetek. - Products of the "smart home" category increase the transparency of interaction between developers, management companies and apartment owners in residential complexes. Focusing on the strategic goal of the Russian government for the digitalization of housing and communal services, we are consistently implementing and improving the global platform IoT.rubetek, which allows you to manage all in-house systems from a single interface, and with the help of a free application, residents also get access to services. According to the results of our study, a third of Russians interested in purchasing housing consider the presence of a smart home system to be a significant factor in choosing. Developers use this competitive quality: not so long ago we announced the completion of a keyless access project in residential construction, implemented by us together with PIK SZ. We are introducing similar projects together with developers throughout the country.

Smart home attack detected using malicious ads

On August 16, 2021, it became known that Israeli the manufacturer of solutions for verification and transparency in mobile and online ecosystems GeoEdge discovered cyber attacks on home IoT devices using. harmful advertizing

Together with partners InMobi and Verve Group, security researchers from GeoEdge managed to find not only the vector of attacks, but also their infrastructure and sources, which turned out to be cybercriminals in Ukraine and Slovenia.

Since June 2021, a team of GeoEdge researchers has been investigating attacks using malicious ads (called malvertising attacks) on smart home IoT devices. They are attacks in which online advertising was used to stealthily install applications on home devices connected to Wi-Fi. To carry out such an attack, attackers only had to have basic knowledge of the device API documentation, understand JavaScript a little and have primitive skills in online advertising.

During malvertising (malicious advertising) attacks, attackers spread malware ON by injecting malicious code into advertising banners through online advertising networks and thereby endanger connected user devices. At the same time, advertising networks often do not even know that they are spreading malicious. content Moreover, during the detected campaign, in order to get infected, victims were not even required to click on an infected banner or go to a malicious page.

Secretly embedded malware can manipulate IoT devices, download applications without the user's knowledge, steal personal information and money tools, and manipulate home systems such as smart locks and CCTV cameras. Antivirus software and even firewalls are not able to block such attacks The world's ^[2].

"Smart home" in just a week was subjected to 12 thousand attempts at hacker attacks

British Consumer Protection Association Which? decided to find out what security threat the "smart home" poses. To do this, experts equipped their own "smart home," filling it with consumer equipment, ranging from a "smart" security system to smart TVs, thermostats and even smart kettles. This became known on July 4, 2021.

As the study showed, the tested "smart home" in just a week was subjected to 12 thousand attempts at hacker attacks. At one point, experts recorded 14 hacking or scanning attempts per hour. Although most of the products were able to repel the attacks, the wireless camera purchased on Amazon was still hacked, and the attacker tried to spy on the house through it.

The study was conducted with the participation of NCC Group, Global Cyber ​ ​ Alliance (GCA) and specialists in the field of security "Internet things" (). IoT "Smart Home" was launched in May 2021, and in the first week, experts recorded 1,017 unique scanning attempts from sources around the world, and at least 66 of them were carried out with malicious intent. The largest number of attack attempts was carried out from,,, and USA. India Russia Netherlands China

The experiment ended in June, and in the most active week, experts recorded 12,807 unique scan/attack attempts. Of these, 2,435 attempts login on smart devices with unreliable default credentials data (such as admin/admin). In other words, every hour the devices were subjected to 14 attempts at brute force attacks.

The largest number of attacks was recorded on, printers Epson but all of them were unsuccessful due to the to the password reliable by default. video surveillances But the ieGeek camera bought on Amazon could not resist hacker attacks, despite the Amazon Choice icon, more than 8.5 thousand reviews (as of June 22, 2021) and 68% of the highest five-star marks. After notifying Which? Amazon removed ieGeek cameras from sale.

97% of attacks were carried out in order to include Mirai in the botnet. Mirai uses brute force attacks to guess passwords, installs a Trojan on devices and adds them to the botnet^[3].

2020

• June 2020: Check Point has discovered a dangerous vulnerability in Philips Hue smart bulbs related to the implementation of the Zigbee communication protocol (the problem of buffer overflow in the heap or heap overflow). Physically being at a distance of 100 meters or more (for example, with a laptop in the park nearby), a hacker will be able to access the target Wi-Fi network through a smart light bulb. Then he can infect the network of the house or office with a ransomware virus or a spy who will steal valuable data.

Ministry of Industry and Trade: irons with wiretapping are sold in Russia

At the end Russia of September 2020, it became known about the appearance of foreign-made irons with built-in wiretapping. This was announced by the director of the Department of Electronic Industry. Ministry of Industry and Trade Vasily Shpak

There are bookmarks. We saw a couple of irons with microphones. Regular iron. With a microphone. Accordingly, in order to throw something somewhere from this microphone, you need some [method of communication], - said Shpak, whose words are quoted by RIA Novosti.

Shpak did not report exactly where the irons with microphones were found and who could have built them there. However, he noted that bookmarks in electrical engineering are not fiction.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that irons with wiretapping are sold in Russia

Retired Major General FSB Alexander Mikhailov, in an interview with the Daily Storm, urged government specialists not to rush to make statements without fully understanding the nature of the discovered devices. The intelligence veteran lamented that such high-profile announcements often make a country that begins to suspect "irons and washing machines" of collecting information a laughing stock. Mikhailov said that any equipment within the framework of public procurement undergoes appropriate control:

Previously, she was sent to a special institute for identification [wiretapping] in her. No device, even the most ordinary, was placed in offices, could be unverified and not sealed accordingly.

Most likely, Shpak was referring to the subject of smart household appliances, admits cybersecurity expert Vladimir Ulyanov. Russians need to get used to the idea that household appliances can listen, he said.

But not from a philistine point of view like a spy iron, which, of course, scouts information in favor of the American special services, such stamps only distort the real picture. In reality, almost any smart household appliances have exactly the same devices today. It is precisely such tools that provide its "cleverness" - thanks to this, we can give voice commands to turn on or off the equipment, change the mode, "added Ulyanov.[4]

Completion of security certificates could lead to the breakdown of smart devices in 2021

The completion of security certificates may lead to the breakdown of smart devices in 2021, reports The Register, citing security consultant Scott Helm^[5].

According to the expert, many smart gadgets, including smart refrigerators, smart TVs, and set-top boxes, can fail. In addition, there may be problems connecting to the Internet smartphones to the operating system. Android

Cause of the problem - Root security certificates expire in the certification authority. The fact is that they are used in many smart home and Internet of Things devices. Thanks to them, a secure Internet connection is established. Certificates can be extended by updating the firmware. However, not all devices have the ability to receive software updates.

Tips for ensuring security from Roskachestvo

It is worth noting that cases when hackers purposefully broke into a person's smart home and had fun are still isolated. Nevertheless, given the increasing automation of cybercriminal processes, an unprotected "smart home" can be hacked not even by people, but by algorithms, as part of a search for open ports "lit up" on the Internet.

There are also special botnets ones from smart devices (their computing power is combined by hackers and sent to mining cryptocurrencies or for DDoS attacks), as well as malware specializing in "zombying" components of a smart home. Back in 2018, the Hide "N Seek botnet was recorded, to which the creators specifically added the ability to hack into the smart homes system of a certain German manufacturer. At the time of detection, 90 thousand devices were infected.

Although IoT developers are formally responsible for the safety of consumer products, it is important to understand that in general, this area is significantly more vulnerable due to its youth than, for example, operating systems for computers. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and set up your "smart home" yourself.

These small steps will help protect your smart home devices from potential cyber attacks:

• use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA). Many smart devices come with default passwords, making them easier to crack as all factory codes are leaked to the network. Be sure to manually configure (usually through an application) a smart device immediately after purchase and change the default usernames and passwords;
• Ensure information security of your home as a whole: install an antivirus on your computer and phone to block malicious software designed to obtain your personal information. Carefully analyze requests for applications, including those related to smart devices, to access your information (photos, location, address book, camera);
• To protect your Wi-Fi network, use a VPN router (Virtual Private Network, "virtual private network") or a security application with the same functionality. Don't connect to unprotected public Wi-Fi networks;
• ideally, it is better to use more than one router so that your IoT devices are on a different network from your primary PC. This will protect information on your PC if your IoT devices are compromised;
• regularly update the software shell of each smart device through applications.

2019

• July 2019: Cybercrime specialists identify several vulnerabilities in the Zipato smart home management system. 112 thousand devices in 20 thousand smart homes Zipato enable a hacker to open the door and do whatever he wants;
• July 2019: Pen Test Partners experts tested the Glamoriser smart hair straightener (a very popular product in the United States, it is constantly advertised on American television as the best gift for Christmas) and found out that through a mobile application you can remotely change the temperature and set the time to automatically turn off the device. A hacker can easily hack and heat the device to a maximum temperature of over 233 degrees Celsius, which is fraught with fire and burns;

Amazon, Apple and Google set about developing open standards for smart home devices

In mid-December 2019, Amazon, Apple and Google, together with the Zigbee Alliance group of companies, announced a joint initiative called Connected Home over IP, which will aim to develop a common network standard for smart home devices. The goal is to provide customers with a wider choice, simplify device development for hardware manufacturers, and increase device compatibility with each other, with mobile applications, cloud services and voice assistants Siri, Alexa and Google Assisstant. Read more here.

Attackers hacked into "smart home" and turned the lives of its inhabitants into a nightmare

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are rapidly becoming an integral part of everyday life. This forces cybersecurity experts to pay close attention to the IoT field and sound the alarm, paying attention to the multiple vulnerabilities that make IoT devices an attractive target for attackers^[6]

A striking example of the vulnerability of "smart" household appliances to cyber attacks is the case of a married couple from Milwaukee (Wisconsin, USA). According to local media, one day their "smart home" went crazy.

In 2018, Samantha and Lamont Westmoreland purchased a Nest thermostat, doorbell and security camera. For some time, nothing disturbed the peace of the spouses, until one day they heard a voice from a camera installed in the kitchen.

Returning from work, Samantha Westmorland found that the house became very hot - the thermostat heated the air to + 32 degrees Celsius. Having attributed everything to a short-term failure, the woman set the usual temperature, but soon the temperature rose again, and a voice came from the camera and music began to play.

The couple changed their passwords, but everything continued again. The Westmorlands turned to their Internet provider, who, at their request, changed the network ID. According to the spouses, someone hacked their Wi-Fi network.

"We probably had to take some action. I think Nest should strengthen security, "the couple noted.

38% of computers used to automate smart buildings were attacked in the first half of the year

On September 20, 2019, it became known that according to Kaspersky Lab, about 38% of computers used to control automation systems of smart buildings were subjected to anti-malware software in the first half of 2019.

Most of the blocked threats are not. targeted Nevertheless, even a non-specific one control systems malware can seriously affect the availability and integrity of automation systems, with the help of which elevators, ventilation, heating, lighting, electrical and water supply, video surveillance fire alarm, information boards, etc. are controlled. Typically, such systems consist of sensors and controllers that are controlled through servers operators' computers, often having to and. access to the Internet corporate mail

Spyware was blocked on 11% of computers, self-spreading worm programs by almost 11%, phishing emails and documents by 8%, and ransomware by about 4%.

By 26% of the total number of devices investigated, attacks were carried out through web resources. On 10% of computers, infection was carried out through removable media (flash drives, external hard drives, etc.) and e-mail. The rarest vector of infection (1.5%) is shared folders on the internal network.

Most often, computers involved in managing smart building automation systems faced malware in Italy (49%), Spain (48%), Great Britain (44%), the Czech Republic and Romania (42% each).

"While most of the threats blocked on computers in building automation management systems are accidental infections, such incidents should not be underestimated. First, sensitive data and, in particular, authentication data stolen by spyware as a result of an accidental infection can be used to plan and conduct a directed attack in the future. Secondly, remote access provided by the same spyware can be sold on the darknet and subsequently used to carry out a directed attack. Thirdly, infection with ransomware can lead not only to the inability to control automation systems, but also to a denial of service for those systems that are not completely autonomous, that is, depend on the availability of the management server. Security employees who are responsible for the IT networks of smart buildings need to pay special attention to the fact that it is necessary to investigate each incident, identify its causes and correct them, " noted Kirill Kruglov, expert of Kaspersky Lab's ICS CERT team

To protect the "smart" building from cyber threats, Kaspersky Lab recommends protecting its IT infrastructure with a reliable solution developed specifically for such environments; Regularly conduct IT security audits to identify and address potential vulnerabilities in a timely manner provide security officers responsible for protecting IT infrastructure with access to up-to-date cyber threat data.^[7]

Too smart devices will limit people's freedom

Smart home systems should not become too complicated, experts say. Making too much "smart" will limit the freedom of our lives, said artificial intelligence Philips Hans Alois Wishmann, head of the Center for Data Expertise and Research. The main function of such devices is process automation, he said.

Unnecessarily complicating smart home systems poses a threat to human freedom. This opinion was expressed by the head of the Center for Data Expertise and Artificial Intelligence Philips Research Hans Alois Wishmann. RNS quoted him in May 2019.

"Regarding smart devices, we must not forget that they have a key and important" support "function that will be used in such devices. But sometimes you can go too far, trying to make too much "smart," which, in turn, can interfere with the freedom of your life. Therefore, we believe in the existence of a combination of sensors that become "smart," but still leave you with a choice, automating some processes, "Wishmann said.

According to him, it is necessary to fill a house of this kind with devices carefully and dosed. "In terms of home devices, we are working on them and to make them" smarter. " At the same time, we do not believe that installing sensors in every place in the house and in any device is the right way of development, "the Philips expert emphasized.

2018

• August 2018: McAfee Advanced Threat Research finds a vulnerability in a smart outlet that allows you to remotely take control of a device and log into your home network, as well as execute arbitrary code. At the most basic level, a hacker can have fun, turning on and off the outlet, at a more advanced level - infect the rest of the smart home devices;

Hackers will mine with household appliances

Experts from the American analytical company Stratfor came to the conclusion that hackers will be able to use a "smart home" for mining in the future, cryptocurrencies according to February 2018. "" News^[8]

The danger threatens all devices included in the smart home system. Presumably, hackers will be able to mine through a direct attack or by infecting technology with a virus.

"Hackers will be able to connect to any device, be it a lighting appliance or a dishwasher: this way hackers have a central node, to which they will direct their attack," said Scott Stewart, vice president of the company.

Analysts also believe that hackers will be primarily interested in software assistants, since they have full access to the user's technique.

Main article: Cryptominer

Some manufacturers and models

• InwiON - Wellink Technologies - Platform for remote management of residential and non-residential premises (management of electricity, household appliances, video surveillance with analytics function)
• Wired Board 4 - Contactless - Universal controller with software for automation and monitoring of sensors, meters. Smart Home Platform
• EVIKA Logic Machine - Evika LLC - Platform for implementation of integrated building automation systems
• Life Control (Smart home) - MegaLabs (MegaLabs)
• VimpelCom: Smart Home
• Tricolor Smart Home
• Yandex: Smart home
• Smart Home i-Tone - SmartTon
• Your Smart Home: video monitoring
• Smart Intercom (City 77)

Notes