• When you bring home a new consumer device, check to see if it’s transmitting. Ask whether you need that device to be connected. What are the advantages of having your fridge broadcast the whereabouts of your cheese? Is the potential to activate remote maintenance with the device provider important to you? Do you want to interact with that device remotely? Then by all means, keep that connection. If you don’t need the maintenance options or to monitor or interact with the device remotely, turn off the device’s connectivity.
  • Periodically scan your networks to make sure you know and manage what’s online. If you want devices to be connected, be proactive. Find out how they connect; how devices are patched; what the default security settings are; and what data are collected and how/when/where the data are transmitted. Protect your home wireless network(s) with strong password management, active maintenance practices, and vigilance.
  • Use the same cybersecurity hygiene on your smart devices that you use on your computer. While it may be revolutionary that your car is now essentially a computer on wheels, it’s still just a computer. You don’t have to become a cybersecurity expert, but you may want to find a few trusted sources of security advice for consumers.