Get in touch with us today to find out how can we help you.
Don’t Be Outsmarted by the Tech!
IT services providers in Houston can help you optimize your home for efficiency, safety and security. You can do many of these things on your own, but if you’re not careful, you could open your home or business up to some undesirable intrusions. Consider a very likely hypothetical that could easily be prevented with proper security solutions:
Someone is divorced and loses the home in the court settlement. As a revenge tactic, when this individual’s ex and a new partner are away from the smart home, the jilted lover cranks up the internal temperature all the way to drive up their utility bill. This can easily be done using smart home tech via IoT, or Internet of Things, exploitation. In this instance, the jilted lover could use an app on their phone to control systems remotely. Proper smart home security could prevent such illegitimate use. Several tactics to employ as you safeguard your home from cybercriminal threats both domestic and foreign include:
- Researching the smart devices you use
- Ensuring devices are properly secured with pass codes that can be updated
- Being sure to regularly update passwords and pass codes
- Separating IoT networks from others, like your computers
- Being diligent about regularly updating software
Researching Your Smart Devices
IT services providers in Houston can help you pin down which families of smart devices will be most secure. There is a slew of them out there, and more of them are being launched every day. The market is growing. You can’t just pick one that looks good, or that is easily available. Well, you can, but it isn’t a good idea.
Properly Updated Security
You want devices that come with internal security which includes a pass code that can be periodically updated. Check for this as you research.
Ensure Regular Updates
Some devices will require passwords, some will require pass codes. Ensure you establish a regular system of updating your devices. The jilted ex-lover wouldn’t have been able to manipulate the heating of the old smart home if its occupants had been savvy enough to update passwords, pass codes, and the like.
Separate Networks
Don’t give hackers access to your internal network. You don’t have to align your IoT network with that which your home operates from. It may be complicated to separate them, but the right MSP can help you get it done correctly.
Software Updates
There are often software vulnerabilities that go undiscovered until an update several versions down the line. You need to make sure your software is updated regularly in order to be properly protected from threats of this kind. Additionally, sometimes problems that weren’t previously anticipated in original software can be brought to your systems, facilitating smoother functionality.
Wide Application
Also, smart home technology extends beyond the residential. Many businesses are employing this tech to conserve energy and expand utility. These additionally require proper security for the most reliable functionality.
IT services in Houston through ICS can help you secure your home, your business, or any other area of life where you’ve begun to employ smart technology of the IoT variety. Contact us for the latest solutions, and secure means of maintaining your premises.
Further reading
ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.