Security Implications of Permission Models in Smart-Home Application Frameworks
By Lori Cameron
Gone are the days of simple smart-home tech—alarms, controlled lights, and garage door openers. Today, for example, smart homes are capable of saving you money by monitoring and adjusting your use of water, electricity, and gas. Also, cameras, sensors, and door locks allow for greater security.
However, smart-home programming frameworks have a vulnerability: their third-party permission models. Unless the models are secure, hackers can manipulate smart devices, causing users great physical, financial, and psychological harm.
Researchers have studied and analyzed the permission models of four popular frameworks: IoTivity, HomeKit, AllJoyn, and SmartThings.
Read "Nothing Comes for Free: How Much Usability Can You Sacrifice for Security?" (Login may be required for full text.)
About Lori Cameron
Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.
