How we penetration tested a home in New Jersey to discover 'smart' vulnerabilities

If you are a business that creates "smart" products - network-aware technologies that allow users to control things like locks on doors, lights, thermostats, surveillance cameras and other common devices from anywhere in the world - security cannot be an afterthought.

But for many of these manufacturers, it seems it is. Our Trustwave security researchers have discovered eye-opening vulnerabilities in smart devices, which are becoming more and more common in homes and businesses. These flaws allow hackers to easily gain control of them.

In a segment that aired this week on the Fox News morning show "Fox & Friends," Trustwave security researcher Daniel Crowley - with permission of course - rigged up a suburban New Jersey home with smart products and then remotely burglarized the residence with nothing more than a laptop.

The demonstration highlighted the need for vendors and their customers to conduct frequent penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking, to identify security weaknesses in smart products, so they can be remedied before it's too late. 

Watch the segment below, and learn more about Trustwave penetration testing here.