Happy New Year!

Over the holidays, many of you may have received or were gifted any number of devices that connect to the Internet. Often referred to IoT devices (Internet of Things) they can range from smart lightbulbs to smart kitchen appliances, and devices for streaming movies from Netflix, Hulu, or HBO.

You may have also heard news stories about recent events where devices have been used nefariously to capture video images or interact with children in their homes by unauthorized individuals.

As with any device that connects to the Internet for services, it is important to be aware of the risks and best practices for the use of electronic devices that can not only make our lives easier but are increasingly becoming commonplace in many of our lives.

For many of these devices, some simple tasks can help prevent your electronic assistants from also becoming spy’s for potential hackers:

• Always look for and change any default passwords that may be used in the device
• Do not use simple passwords such as the Top 10 passwords of 2019 (https://sensorstechforum.com/top-10-most-hacked-passwords-2019/)
• Do not use passwords that contain easy to identify information such as children or pets names
• For online accounts, do not reuse the same UserID and Password combination that you have used elsewhere
• Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible.

With the excitement of the holidays and new electronic toys, it is also important to not forget about all your old devices as well. For many of these devices, vulnerabilities are regularly found that could expose your device or your information, so it is important to check for updates to all your electronic equipment including computers, wireless access points and other Internet of Things devices.

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