A connected home expands your attack surface. Done properly, it is still far safer than an unmonitored house — but only if the installation follows a real security process rather than a product manual.
The checklist
- 1. Segment the network. IoT devices belong on their own VLAN with no route to laptops, phones or network storage.
- 2. Eliminate default credentials on every device, including the ones with no obvious login.
- 3. Disable UPnP on the router. It exists to open ports without asking you.
- 4. Never port-forward a camera. Use an authenticated relay or VPN for remote viewing.
- 5. Record locally first, with encryption at rest on the recorder.
- 6. Establish a firmware policy: staged updates, tested before deployment, logged when applied.
- 7. Use unique accounts per household member, never a single shared login.
- 8. Audit access quarterly and revoke codes for cleaners, contractors and former guests.
- 9. Place cameras to cover approaches, not interiors, and mark privacy zones in software.
- 10. Provide a battery and cellular fallback so cutting power or broadband does not blind the system.
- 11. Test every alert path physically at handover, not just in the app.
- 12. Document the whole system and hand the documentation to the homeowner.
Why verification matters more than coverage
A system that cries wolf gets ignored, then disarmed, then abandoned. We design around verified events: a motion signal plus a door contact, or a person classification plus a time-of-day rule. Fewer alerts, each one meaningful, is the entire objective.
Privacy is a design decision
Decide early who can view footage, for how long it is kept, and whether it leaves the property at all. Those three answers shape the hardware you should buy, and they are far harder to change afterwards.
Security you have to think about is security you will eventually stop using.
Ask any installer to walk you through these twelve points before you sign. The answers will tell you more about the quality of your future system than any product specification sheet.