Protecting your most valuable assets is critical to enjoying life. It is for this reason that home security is crucial to protect these valuables. Technology in home security has evolved throughout the years. Some common home security upgrades include: smart remote access, use of cameras and monitoring through the internet, and access to third party vendors. Below, we will identify four challenges that come with today’s home security technology.
Danny Thankkar of Bayometric.com provides some insights to some common issues with current security systems.
One of the main issues is its astronomical price to own and maintain. Buying these systems after the purchase of your home is not cheap. When vendors advertise these systems, they usually will advertise the low-end price to attract more buyers but the actual cost is much higher. Also, some of the new systems come with monitoring services which customers pay an additional monthly fee anywhere from $15-$100 per month.
The second issue that Danny talks about is securing your home security system. For most wireless security systems, access can be remotely made outside the home. Since security can be accessed remotely, anyone with good computer skills can essentially go into your security system and modify it. Radio frequency (RF) interference is another issue. If interfered with, the wireless signals will not be triggered if there is too much RF interference. For our third issue, we will explore how to better protect your security system from the outside world of hackers.
David Mayne of SecuritySales.com provides an interesting article on protection of home security systems from hackers. Below is a summary of his main points:
- The Operating System (OS): Changes have to be constantly made to ensure that the OS’s most commonly used stay ahead of cyber-attacks;
- Three levels of protection should be integrated within any home security system: a) Authentication; b) Encryption; and c) Supervision; and
- Remote upgrades should be connected to these systems from dealers or manufacturers in a more expedited manner in order to fight against these cyber threats.
A fourth issue of today’s home security technology is that the hardware can be tampered with and can be costly. This has happened to someone close to me where burglars ripped off the cameras and the cost for replacing the cameras and associated wiring was quite expensive — almost half the price of the entire system itself!
According to security giant ADT, common security upgrades that can help mitigate these issues include:
- Wireless access keychains
- Wireless sensors for doors and/or windows
- Built-in motion sensors
- Indoor sirens
- Lawn signs and window stickers
- Backup power supply
In a nutshell, home security technology is not perfect, but it is still critical in the fight against those that pose a threat to your home security.