Why do privacy and security matter with modern home applicances?

Similar to smartphones and smart TVs, even home appliances have started getting a lot smarter these days. For instance, Samsung's high-end refrigerators with giant touchscreen displays let you stream videos, while one of its ovens even has a built-in camera that allows you to monitor your favorite recipes.

Earlier today, Samsung announced that its new home appliances, including Bespoke AI Refrigerators and the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo, have received a critical Internet of Things (IoT) security certification. And some of you could wonder why would home appliances even need to have such advanced privacy and security measures. Let us know why.

Smart home appliances use a lot of data to offer smarter features, and that data needs to be protected

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Modern home appliances can be controlled and monitored wirelessly through smartphones. This requires them to connect to your Wi-Fi network and store your network password. Many of these devices also require you to log into your smart home app, which means they store your login ID and password.

Devices also know which other smart home devices and phones are present on your network. Some smart home devices, such as Samsung's newly unveiled Bespoke AI Jet Bot Steam Ultra, have a built-in camera, which doubles as a home security monitoring device. Most smart home appliances have microphones to listen to your voice commands. Since they have access to all this data, and most of it is personal, they need to guard that data and protect your privacy.

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It is important that your logins and passwords are stored in a secure location and that no one unauthorized can snoop in your appliance to monitor your home. It is also important that all the images, videos, and audio captured by these smart home devices are stored at a secure location and transmitted in an end-to-end encrypted format.

Keeping the rise of connected homes and cars in mind, government agencies around the world have either created new data protection laws or updated existing laws. Some have offered guidelines to device manufacturers and software developers so that consumer data remains private and secure. For example, the European Union (EU) has the following laws:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)

Radio Equipment Directive (RED)

Are Samsung's smart home devices and appliances secure?

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Samsung has taken proactive steps towards privacy and security for its home appliances. It has implemented several Knox features in connected appliances:

End-to-end data traffic encryption.

Firmware integrity checks make sure that modified firmware isn't used to break into the system.

Knox Dashboard: This Knox security system displays who has access to which data and how it can be used. This information, including access control and app permissions, is displayed in an easy-to-understand format.

Knox Matrix: All Wi-Fi-enabled home appliances in the network keep checking each other's security status and act as a private blockchain.

Knox Vault: It is a hardware-based security solution in which critical data like login biometric information, cryptographic keys, passwords, and PIN is stored in a dedicated hardware that is isolated from the main system. It makes sure that no one gets hold of that data in case the main operating system or software is compromised.

Samsung’s home appliances have received several privacy and security certifications, including the Diamond IoT Security Rating from UL Solutions and TUV Nord’s Cybersecurity Certified (ETSI EN 303 645) rating. The company recently also announced an industry-leading seven-year software update support promise for its TVs and other home appliances, with each new update delivering improved privacy and security.

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor

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First Samsung device: T100

Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S23 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.

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