Alexa, Protect My Privacy

Take steps to keep speakers, security cameras and other smart devices safe from hackers who want to steal your data—or worse.

- Lisa Gerstner

Theresa Payton is CEO of security consulting company Fortalice Solutions, cofounder of Dark Cubed, a cybersecurity product company, and former chief information officer for the White House.

Reports circulated recently that hackers had accessed Ring home security cameras and used them to speak to and taunt their owners. Why are crooks interested in smart devices?

Investigations into these events are ongoing, but we know that a forum was set up online where hackers were live streaming some of the things that they were doing, ostensibly to show the dangers of these types of devices. It was a violation of privacy and very scary for the victims, but we really haven’t seen yet how these devices could be used to conduct economic and political espionage. You may think that your day-to-day life is boring and inconsequential, but you could be connected to somebody hackers consider a valuable target.