ARLINGTON, Va. – Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is offering a new resource to installers of smart home technology products aimed at helping them implement cybersecurity best practices.
The Connected Home Security Checklist Tool, based on CTA’s Device Security Best Practices whitepaper, details security protocols for installing and configuring products to help protect consumers and their smart home devices from unwanted malware or hackers.
“Good cybersecurity practices are critical at the installer level – one of the first lines of defense against security breaches,” says Melissa Andresko, chair of CTA’s TechHome division and communications director at Lutron Electronics. “To better safeguard consumers’ privacy and sensitive information, CTA created the first-ever tool designed by installers, for installers, that outlines existing best practices, standards and methods for today’s smart home security challenges.”
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The tool is mobile-friendly and ideal for job sites, CTA says, offering installers a quick reference of industry practices for topics including passwords, networks, modems and routers, VPNs and Z-Wave/ZigBee. To ensure consumers are well informed about the work completed in their homes by professionals, the tool also emails customers a comprehensive assessment of the security steps performed, as well as recommendations.
The Checklist Tool is said to deliver numerous benefits by:
- Outlining existing best solutions to current and forthcoming smart home security challenges;
- Providing customers with peace of mind through enhanced protection against smart home/connected home related threats;
- Comprehensively cataloging the installed connected systems in a home;
- Reducing liability to professional installers by providing an industry approved guide;
- Adding value to the services of CTA member professional installers, setting them apart in the marketplace by using documented recommended practices or processes for selecting products, systems, installation and maintenance.
According to CTA research, nearly all homes have access to the Internet and 29 million smart home devices are projected to sell this year, a 63% increase from last year, creating a demand for professionals capable of installing different devices from different manufacturers that work together seamlessly.
The Connected Home Security Checklist Tool was developed by CTA’s Tech Home division board. The tool is available only to CTA members.
