An avalanche of media reports has highlighted potential vulnerabilities in Bluetooth Low Energy technology’s connections. Is the attention warranted? ULPWQ reports.
We’ve all seen them, scare-tactic headlines that have popped up on online searches since the smart home shifted from gimmick towards mainstream. “If you use smart Bluetooth locks, you’re asking to be burgled,” or, “Have a smart lock? Yeah, it can probably be hacked,” are two examples amongst many, and it is creating the perfect contradiction in growth projections for the smart lock market.
According to analyst Credence Research, the global smart lock market is predicted to be worth $3.5 billion by 2025, as consumers are eager to invest in home automation systems because of increased security concerns for their family and property. At the same time, Credence Research says, a significant factor restraining market growth is also security, and the fear these solutions are vulnerable to hacking. Secure if we do, secure if we don’t – which is it?
No vendor of a Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) smart lock can guarantee its solution is 100 percent secure or ‘unhackable,’ but this is not distinct to smart lock manufacturers. No vendor of any online- or wirelesslynetworked solution can make that promise, at least not in good faith. But not all Bluetooth LE hardware and software is created equal, and get your Bluetooth LE protocol implementation right and chances of a security breach reduce dramatically. The hackers will hopefully move on to easier targets.