Icon Labs To Roll Out Security Option for Smart Home Device Makers

Icon Labs is rolling out a security package that enables smart home companies to protect small connected devices against hackers. Currently, home networks rely on the router to stop outside attacks, Icon CEO Alan Grau told us, but many smart home devices don’t include enough protection, such as unique keys or security certificates. Grau cited security mishaps by Cisco in June, where the company warned of default SSH (Secure Shell) keys on its appliances and Microsoft’s warning earlier this month of possible attacks following leaked Xbox certificates. Naked Security reported last month that millions of IoT devices are secured by the same private keys, which Grau compared to a lockmaker using the same key design for every lock it sells. Webcams are particularly vulnerable, he said. A security camera company with 10,000 units in the market could avoid a recall after a hack by using Icon’s technology that securely updates software in all of the cameras, he said. Computers already offer this level of protection through operating system updates, but smart home device processors “are too small to run a big operating system,” Grau said. Icon’s system can be installed in the “brains” of security cameras, home sensors, smart appliances, home medical gear, lighting and door locks, enabling smart home device manufacturers to bring out new generations of consumer products that are “much more secure” than what is out there now, he said.