I’ve been installing more automation systems lately and I still run into clients who get nervous when everything depends on an app. Some folks in Arkansas love the convenience and jump right in, but others ask the same questions every time about privacy, outages, and reliability. I can’t tell yet if app based control is finally becoming mainstream or if we’re still in the early adopter stage. What are you all seeing on your end? Are customers trusting these systems more or do you still hear a lot of hesitation before they agree to it? I feel like the tech has gotten solid, but the trust part is still all over the place.
Do your customers trust app controlled systems?
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It feels like we are in the middle of the shift. Younger homeowners want everything on their phones while older clients still want the old top button to work no matter what. I keep noticing that once they try scheduling or remote access, they usually warm up to it. When your clients push back, is it because of data worries or just not wanting another app on their phone?
Ignoring my trade for a moment & looking from a Homeowner point of view, anything IoT makes me a bit nervous.
Lots of IoT devices (such as televisions, dishwashers, refrigerators, thermostats & such) are favorite targets of hackers because security updates are not always a priority with those companies. If someone hacks into the homeowner's network, potentially they have access to the computers (and the private data thereon) which also are on the network.
For us, our IoT devices are on a separate & isolated "Guest" network. If someone gets in through, for example, the thermostat, the bad guy can't get to the network that has our computers & all of our medical, savings and banking data (which has almost enough money to buy them small fries at Burger Biggie). The bad guy can, however, use the thermostat break-in to access other things on the Guest Network.
And someone did twice. A scoundrel got in, assumedly through one of the televisions, and wreaked havoc with our other TV sets and the thermostat. We were locked out of all. One even re-named the thermostat "I Got You". Then we got e-mails telling us that he would relinquish control if we sent $$$ in gift cards. (Dopey criminal. Each device has a manual Factory Reset button.) Needless to say, the Guest Network then got a stronger password.
I asked once a person who is VP of Networking Security for one of the largest corporations in Michigan if people actually do break into networks and computers through IoT devices & then get into peoples' computers & the data therein on the network. The Reply: "Constantly!".
So for me, as "Mr. Johnny Homeowner", I'd either use an isolated Guest network or skip automation for my automation systems at home.
For me, as "Mr. Big Shot Electrician", figuring out IoT makes my brain explode! I'll leave that to the wiser set. (Translation: Younger set)
Paul
Lots of IoT devices (such as televisions, dishwashers, refrigerators, thermostats & such) are favorite targets of hackers because security updates are not always a priority with those companies. If someone hacks into the homeowner's network, potentially they have access to the computers (and the private data thereon) which also are on the network.
For us, our IoT devices are on a separate & isolated "Guest" network. If someone gets in through, for example, the thermostat, the bad guy can't get to the network that has our computers & all of our medical, savings and banking data (which has almost enough money to buy them small fries at Burger Biggie). The bad guy can, however, use the thermostat break-in to access other things on the Guest Network.
And someone did twice. A scoundrel got in, assumedly through one of the televisions, and wreaked havoc with our other TV sets and the thermostat. We were locked out of all. One even re-named the thermostat "I Got You". Then we got e-mails telling us that he would relinquish control if we sent $$$ in gift cards. (Dopey criminal. Each device has a manual Factory Reset button.) Needless to say, the Guest Network then got a stronger password.
I asked once a person who is VP of Networking Security for one of the largest corporations in Michigan if people actually do break into networks and computers through IoT devices & then get into peoples' computers & the data therein on the network. The Reply: "Constantly!".
So for me, as "Mr. Johnny Homeowner", I'd either use an isolated Guest network or skip automation for my automation systems at home.
For me, as "Mr. Big Shot Electrician", figuring out IoT makes my brain explode! I'll leave that to the wiser set. (Translation: Younger set)
Paul
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I still get plenty of side-eye whenever I pull out an app demo. Half my customers love tapping a button on their phone, the other half act like the cloud’s gonna steal their toaster. The tech works fine—it’s the trust part that drags. I just tell them, “Look, if you can bank on your phone, you can turn on a light with it.”
The problem is that many IoT devices aren't as tenacious about security as are Microsoft, Apple, Banks & such. If someone backs into your network through a weak IoT device security, they have access to anything on your home's network. (Like the computer where you have personal data.)
I'd surely not do banking on the same WiFi network as my IoT stuff.
Isolated Guest Networks on the router are a great way to prevent this cross-contamination. IoT on Guest, real stuff on the normal network. And, super secure would be ethernet. That's how my printer is connected because the manufacturer said the network firewall has to be turned off if I connect by WiFi.
