New Year. New Challenges.

This article by Ryan Bromley, Co-Founder of Kubu Smart Security 🔒 was first published in Total Installer Magazine January 2023 Edition.

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Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year. I hope you’ve all had a relaxing Christmas and are rested and ready for the roller coaster that will be 2023! 

There’s been many mixed predictions for the coming year, from total disaster, to not too bad and everything else in between.  We were all fearing the worst a few months ago, but there seems to be a glimmer of life in the fenestration market, that isn’t necessarily being seen elsewhere.

Energy prices skyrocketing has made energy efficiency a priority. The subsequent financial squeeze has seen crime on the rise, so Security is another hot topic too. 

With an average of 18% of the total heat within a house being lost through windows, and over a third of all UK break-ins happening through unsecured doors and windows – it’s no surprise that consumer demand for Smart Security technology is also on the rise.

Previously the domain of geeks and tech fans, the idea of a smart home is rapidly becoming a mainstream reality, with basic setups becoming more and more affordable and reliable. The issue is that it is also raising the risk of cybersecurity threats.

Studies in the area have provided numerous examples, demonstrating how hackers can access everything from TVs to toasters, using vulnerabilities in the devices to gain access to supposedly ‘secure’ systems.

One report by CBCs Marketplace programme, highlighted how accessing just one device (in this case a poorly password protected router) allowed a team of “white hat” hackers – sat in a van outside a home – to access a family’s camera feeds, play with their heating settings, and most worryingly remotely unlock their front door! 

Scary as that might sound, these “white hat” hackers are the good guys. 

They were hired to conduct the experiment (with the family’s full permission) to highlight weaknesses in devices to manufacturers before it became a bigger problem. It doesn’t bear thinking about how awful the results could have been had it been the bad guys sat in that van…

In another example, Which? (the consumer advocacy group) conducted an experiment that recorded more than 12,000 remote hacking attempts in just one week. That’s more than one attempt EVERY minute.

The thing is, anything that connects to the internet is hackable. ANYTHING.

So although the security of Smart devices is constantly being improved, consumer error, faulty technology or software bugs will inevitably lead to security issues.

Furthermore, the world of “Smart” devices is littered with standards and accreditations – ranging from battery life monitoring to encryption strength – making it ever more difficult to know who and what to trust.

Which is exactly why ‘Secured By Design’ – the official Police security initiative – have decided to step in and launch their ‘Secure Connected Device’ accreditation scheme. 

Developed so that companies providing IoT connected products and services can demonstrate that their products have achieved the appropriate standards and that their products and services have been independently assessed against all 13 provisions of the ETSI EN 303 645 standard – rather than the mandatory 3 provisions being legislated by the UK government.

One clear accreditation, by a well known and respected body, that ensures the devices you are fitting in your home will keep you safe and secure.

At Kubu, we are one of the first companies to be working with SBD and IASME (their independent certification body) to obtain the ‘Secure Connected Device’ accreditation for all of our devices and sensors, to complement the SBD and PAS24 accreditations already obtained for the Avantis “Works with Kubu” door and window multi-point lock range. 

Not only is Kubu a cost effective and simple to fit differentiator for your business, it also boasts some of the MOST SECURE hardware, software and data management systems around, making it a great option for you to offer Smart Security to your customers.

What makes it even better is that even after all of this, should your Kubu be accessed through your kettle (however unlikely), it still offers ZERO SECURITY RISK to your property. 

Kubu Smart Security sensors will provide all of the Smart features that your customers need, while maintaining the physical lock and key for security, lending even more credence to our motto: 

Be Sure It’s Secure.