Lock your doors: Protecting your Internet-connected home

The Internet-connected home is arriving faster than you think -- offering conveniences but also new security perils with every smart device you bring inside. Here's how to protect yourself.

Internet-connected home devices like the Nest thermostat promise a new world of convenience -- and new security risks, too. James Martin/CNET

There's a good chance you'll soon have to worry about your house getting hacked.

Everything from door locks and ovens to thermostats and refrigerators are being connected to the Internet to make them "smart," giving you the ability to control or reset these household stalwarts through an app on your smartphone or tablet. You can turn on the heater so you don't have to enter a cold house, unlock the front door for kids or guests who have arrived early, or peruse video from cameras in your living room to see what the cat is doing.

Companies big and small are investing heavily in what's loosely referred to as the Internet of Things, a catch-all term for the technology that makes all the parts of this connected new world work. In fact, researcher IDC expects the market for Internet-connected devices to top $7 trillion within the next six years.

But for every technology step forward, there's nearly always a step back. With the Internet of Things, the very act of giving previously "dumb" appliances intelligence opens the door to new security risks.

Why should you be on guard? Consider that, as a whole, Fortune 500 companies spend about $80 billion a year on Internet security. Yet hackers breach many of these companies' networks.

Devices and networks for the home must be secured against intruders just like those used by a business.

But for many Internet of Things makers, these considerations are often afterthoughts. A case in point: Security researcher Paul Vixie found the quality assurance budget at General Motors was about $50 per car, but a paltry $5 per unit for a cable modem that enables Internet connectivity.

Security snafus wrought by smart-home devices made headlines earlier this year. One firm claimed it found an Internet-connected refrigerator transformed into a spambot, surreptitiously sending out junk email without the owner's knowledge. More ominous and unnerving: Someone tapped into a baby monitor's security camera to verbally harass an infant.

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Lock your doors: Protecting your Internet-connected home