The double edged sword of a connected home...

[Golfdriver97]

Domestic abuse through the connected home devices is apparently on the rise. According to 9to5 Mac:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/06/25/smart-home-tech-domestic-abuse/

Given that all that needs to happen is a relationship to go south, and one party has access to all the connected devices, this is possible, sadly.

A few things I can think of to counteract this would be resetting or disconnecting the devices from your router, and, changing your router's admin password, and the network ID password connecting to your router.

Anybody have any other ideas? I am kind of in the dark about this as I don't have much in the means of a connected home.

For more info on how to get help:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/09/smart-home-domestic-abuse-help/

 

[pkcable]

Scary stuff! I know that already folks have been using phones for the purpose, and other stalking type behavior. Using social media, and tracking apps from google, apple, and from the carriers, to stalk spouses, etc.

 

[chanchan05]

Mostly the abuse would happen if one of the partners was a bit less tech literate than the other. It should be pretty easy to revoke access of an abuser if ever you do split up, especially since you actually have access to the hardware of the smarthome. But for a non techy person that's daunting.

If it's happening when they're still together, I'd say the abused has other things to worry about first like how to get out of the relationship before thinking of how to stop the electronic abuse, since it will just revert to a different form as long as they're together.

 

[Scott337]

Wow, that is terrible. What the heck is wrong with some people? Changing the WiFi password is definitely the frist place to start, since all Home devices run connected to the WiFi network. I assume it's the same for Echo devices. This kind of foolery means the perpetrator has to be close enough to have their phone, tablet, etc connected to the WiFi network yo be able to control the smart home devices. Also, the Home app can show you which all devices are connected and I believe allow you to deny access for a specific device. I would imagine that Echo devices have a similar app that has a lot of smart device controls.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Mostly the abuse would happen if one of the partners was a bit less tech literate than the other. It should be pretty easy to revoke access of an abuser if ever you do split up, especially since you actually have access to the hardware of the smarthome. But for a non techy person that's daunting.

If it's happening when they're still together, I'd say the abused has other things to worry about first like how to get out of the relationship before thinking of how to stop the electronic abuse, since it will just revert to a different form as long as they're together.

First part is a good point. Someone is usually less inclined to technology than the other person. That was kind of one reason why I put a few suggestions on how to counter the moves made.

Second part, I agree with. If someone is still together with this kind of controlling behavior, there are other concerns. I would say the first step is crash with a friend in a different location, thinking if one is in a situation where they are in a city with several suburb cities. Other steps would be changing your number or even your carrier, and changing Gmail passwords.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Wow, that is terrible. What the heck is wrong with some people? Changing the WiFi password is definitely the frist place to start, since all Home devices run connected to the WiFi network. I assume it's the same for Echo devices. This kind of foolery means the perpetrator has to be close enough to have their phone, tablet, etc connected to the WiFi network yo be able to control the smart home devices. Also, the Home app can show you which all devices are connected and I believe allow you to deny access for a specific device. I would imagine that Echo devices have a similar app that has a lot of smart device controls.

Thanks for the input. I'm sure anyone in this kind of situation would appreciate any and all options available.

 

[Morty2264]

Wow, that's so awful! My home isn't "connected" either, so I really wouldn't know other avenues of combatting that type of harassment.

 

[Rukbat]

I can see routers coming out with settable VPN servers, so you can run secure from the phone or other computer to the router encrypted, and an unencrypted connection attempt would fail.

And a few laws changing (at one time, a man couldn't be charged with raping his wife), making stalking within your own house (if after a breakup, the husband had to move out but still has to pay the mortgage and taxes) a felony of the same level as stalking in someone else's house. (Right now, "I was just using my own cameras to take pictures in my own house" is probably a valid defense. It should be more like a landlord renting an apartment with hidden cameras in it.)