Can Smart Bulbs Be Hacked To Spy On You?

Cybercrime is one of the more challenging issues of today’s era. We totally rely on technology and our gadgets need the internet to operate. Everything that is connected to the internet has a risk of getting hacked. Smart Lighting is one of those gadgets that can be hacked and misused by someone.

Some poor product designs make them incredibly easy to hack and spy on you. The cheap products use old technologies and techniques, with many personal security risks. The hackers easily access those security protocols and can steal your personal information, banking details, passwords, and conversations.

Smart bulbs with updated technology have a minimum chance of getting hacked. And you can regularly update their firmware to make sure your information is secure.

So for your security, you need to be informed about your security risks and protection against those risks.

How Smart Bulbs Spy On You?

Although smart bulbs are a fantastic choice to enjoy the ambiance and convenient lighting.

However, the smart bulbs are always connected to WiFi, so if you use cheap products or are unaware of how to secure your network from hackers, this can interfere with your security and personal information.

So, let’s discuss in which ways you are at security risk due to smart lights.

If the smart bulbs use outdated technology or are manufactured cheaply, someone can easily access them and connect with your home’s WiFi connection. Through WiFi access, they can easily access the smart gadgets connected to that network even your laptops and smartphones. They easily access the information you send or receive, steal your bank details and passwords, and personal data on your phone or laptop.

Moreover, most of smart bulbs have microphones and cameras inside them that always record your conversations and keep an eye on your activities. So there is a higher risk that someone can easily access the microphones and cameras, and secretly watch and record your activities and conversation.

Furthermore, your location can easily be traced. Although it is convenient to control the lighting of the house through smart light. If you are away from home or out of the city, you can easily control your smart lights using your smartphone. But your location data can easily be traced through that.

What hackers can learn from spying?

Whenever it comes to the hacking of smart bulbs, the first thing that comes to mind is What hackers can do with our smart bulbs.

Are hackers crazy enough to manipulate the light bulbs by turning them on and off? Or will change the filters of light to scare you?

Hackers never do this, nor they hack your smart bulbs to do this.

Using a smart bulb without any privacy cautions is just like inviting someone to keep an eye on you and give access to your personal information. Here is what hackers can get from spying on you with the help of smart bulbs.

This is what hackers can do with the help of your smart bulbs:

1. They can steal wifi passwords, with which your smart bulb is connected. And through that, they can get access to the details of all other networks connected with it.
2. They can potentially steal your personal information by accessing the audio or video recording through the camera and microphone if the bulb has.
3. They can trace the information of location.

How To Protect Against Smart Light Bulb Hacking?

Although the dark side of smart bulbs is very dangerous, you can deal with it even with a little bit of knowledge. So, we have some steps for you to minimize the chance of hacking through the smart lighting bulbs:

1. If you use the same passwords for different accounts, there is a good chance for hackers to access them easily. So, always use a unique password for every account.
2. Many smart bulbs have features of geo-location, and audio or video recording. If your smart bulbs have these features and you don’t need them, turn off these features for your security.
3. Regularly update the firmware of your smart bulb to make sure that you have the latest security patches.
4. Regularly monitor your network. If you find any new device or connection, immediately block it from your network.
5. If you dispose of or sell any smart bulb, reset to the factory setting so that you successfully remove all the data or information stored by your bulb.

Share this basic knowledge with your family members so that in your absence they can check the security of the house.