As 2021 ends, Baron Property Management conveys a few tips to make your current and future leases a bit more secure from malicious outside threats.
When purchasing our upgrading smart home devices for your rentals, be sure to:
- Do thorough research before purchasing IoT devices and select well-known, reputable, American-owned brands with good cybersecurity track records. Choosing generic or off-brand devices may cost less up front, but they may be more likely to have serious security issues.
- Do not choose devices with known vulnerabilities, limited security features, or poor consumer reviews. During your research, any mentions of buggy app interfaces, infrequent updates, or difficulty updating software should be a red flag.
- Avoid purchasing devices from the clearance section if they are being phased out, regardless of the manufacturer. These devices may belong to discontinued product lines or may be made by a company that’s going out of business. The device may stop receiving software or firmware patches and will be at larger risk of compromise.
- Avoid manufacturers and devices that are new to the IoT device market. Newer manufacturers may not have the same level of expertise and experience as well-established companies that have been producing IoT devices for years. Similarly, newly released IoT devices may pose risks due to rushed production or limited testing prior to entering the market.
- Before purchasing a device, review the user manual to ensure that it is easy to establish basic security settings like changing default credentials and enabling auto-updates. Opt for devices that offer multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption, and regular software updates.
- Review the device’s terms of service and privacy policy to learn about how the manufacturer collects, stores, and uses your data on the device and any connected applications. If available, select a device that allows you to request your data to be deleted from the manufacturer’s servers. Mozilla offers a detailed guide rating the privacy of many popular connected devices.
Remember fully disclosing all connected devices — including their maintenance and care — by specific lease references makes for excellent tenant relations. (It may also reduce any liability as a landlord).
I welcome your comments. Please email Baron at info@baronpropertymanagement.com. Happy 2022