For those that don’t know, the dark web (also known as Tor) is world wide web content that exists on hidden darkness and requires specific software, or authorization in order for users to get access to it. It’s most commonly known as a hangout for criminals where illegal drugs or porn is sourced and sold but has more recently come into the limelight as being a potential security feature for those that use smart home technology.
Although the introduction of smart home technology seemed like a good idea at the time, was it thought out as much as it could have been? While our home devices are innocently connected to ‘smart’ technology, they are also innocently at risk of being of being hacked. Since this new technology has been installed in people’s homes there, have already been reports of baby monitors being hacked and even refrigerators being used to access the internet and personal data unlawfully.
The Guardian Project are the non-profit organization responsible for the overseeing of Tor, and they suggest that the same technology used to hide the location of servers for their network could be used as a security measure for smart home technology users. With the use of Tor’s technology, the smart devices would become undiscoverable to potential hackers. This was demonstrated using a Raspberry Pi when the team made a smart hub out of it that used the open-source software, Home Assistant at the same time as acting as Tor hidden device. Although HomeAssistant is only in its early stages, if it does take off it would mean great relief for smart home technology users everywhere and could soon be the new ‘must-have’ item in everyone’s home.
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