Smart Locks – How Secure Are They?

As with any bit of new tech, the smart lock comes with a huge list of pros and cons.

People like convenience, a smart lock means that you can check your property is locked remotely.  In conjunction with other smart devices, it means that you can see who is at your door and allow them access to your property from afar.  You don’t have to remember your keys when you leave the house or even double-check your door is locked. And of course, there are fewer bulky items wearing holes in your pockets or handbag.  Everything, including locking and unlocking your doors can now be done right from your smartphone.

Smart locks were launched commercially in 2013 and initially utilised Bluetooth to communicate with smartphones to transmit a soft key to your smart lock.  When the phone left the building the door could be locked and to unlock the door again you would simply tap the lock with your phone.  Clever stuff.  But Bluetooth has a very short range so smart locks began to use Wi-Fi technology instead.  Whilst this gives the device greater capabilities it introduces limitations such as a far shorter battery life within the lock and, of course, cyber vulnerabilities.

Smart lock software has grown to the point where you can now talk to Alexa or Siri, turn on the heating, switch your lights off or even speak to your Amazon driver and tell them where to leave your package.

Worldwide, the smart lock market is on track to reach £3.2bn in 2027, up tenfold from £310m in 2016, according to market research firm Statista.

Companies like Airbnb and Yale have been utilising this technology more and more, working in partnership they are able to manage their properties remotely.

That being said, there are also many analysts who are concerned about the level of security in these devices.

Craig Young, the researcher from Tripwire, a risk management software firm, has worked on many smart locks’ projects in the past and claimed that due to security risks he would not utilise one of these devices in his own home.

Craig’s main concern is the risk of the lock to be opened by a hacker, closely followed by a concern for reliability.  Getting locked out due to a flat phone battery or lost mobile phone would not be amusing!

“Until I’ve seen better-proven track records of reliability for the uptime of the services that are running the systems, as well as the individual components in these locks, I don’t think it’s a great idea to make your personal safety rely on these,” he says.

Another large challenge to consider is that the current battery life on average is around 6 months and can be shorter if the device utilises Wi-Fi.

We love to build automation and clever solutions into our lives and ultimately, we are working towards smart locks that know when we want to lock and unlock your door, so we have one less worry in our day to day.

If we used to think of locks as a way of keeping everyone out, Wi-Fi-enabled smart locks are instead becoming devices to lock the right people out while letting your cleaner, mum, or delivery person in.

Is this the future or are the risks too high?