When Smart Devices Become Dangerous: The Hidden Cybersecurity Risks of IoT

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Smart devices are everywhere. Cameras, thermostats, doorbells, printers, medical devices, access control systems, appliances, building controls, and even lawn equipment are now connected to the internet. These devices make life easier, but they can also create serious cybersecurity, privacy, and physical safety risks when security is ignored.

A recent report from The Verge highlighted a disturbing example involving Yarbo robotic lawn mowers. According to the report, a security researcher demonstrated that certain Yarbo devices could be remotely accessed and controlled, exposing GPS locations, cameras, owner email addresses, Wi-Fi credentials, and even the ability to control a heavy machine with blades from thousands of miles away. The Verge also reported that the issue involved shared credentials, remote access concerns, and backend permission problems. Yarbo has since announced security fixes, including unique device passwords and changes to remote access functionality.

While this story involves a robotic lawn mower, the lesson applies to every connected device in your home, office, facility, or organization.

IoT Devices Are Not “Just Gadgets”

Many people think of IoT devices as harmless accessories. A smart camera is just a camera. A thermostat is just a thermostat. A printer is just a printer. A lawn mower is just a lawn mower.

That mindset is dangerous!

Most IoT devices are small computers. They often contain processors, storage, operating systems, network connections, cloud access, microphones, cameras, sensors, GPS, and remote-control functions. If they are poorly secured, they can become entry points into your network.

In an organizational environment, that can mean exposure of sensitive files, client information, financial systems, email accounts, phones, security cameras, cloud services, and even physical operations.

What Can Go Wrong?

When IoT security is weak, the risks can go far beyond inconvenience. A vulnerable device may allow attackers to:

• View live camera feeds or recorded footage.
• Track physical locations and movement patterns.
• Steal Wi-Fi passwords or stored credentials.
• Gain a foothold inside the network.
• Launch attacks against other systems.
• Disrupt operations.
• Turn devices into part of a botnet.
• Access sensitive personal, client, or organizational data.
• Manipulate devices that can affect physical safety.

That last point is especially important. Some IoT devices no longer live only in the digital world. They move, unlock doors, control temperatures, monitor patients, manage access, operate equipment, or interact with the physical environment.

When cybersecurity fails, physical safety can be affected too.

The Geopolitical and Supply-Chain Risk

There is another important lesson in this story: IoT security is not only a technical issue. It can also be a supply-chain and geopolitical issue.

Yarbo presents itself with a U.S. corporate presence, but its Chinese-language company page describes “Yarbo Hanyang Technology” as founded in 2015 and headquartered in Shenzhen, with offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and manufacturing facilities in China.

That does not automatically mean the product is malicious. Many legitimate technology products are designed, manufactured, assembled, or supported internationally.

However, it does raise an important question: Who ultimately controls the device, the cloud platform, the firmware updates, the remote support tools, and the data?

That question becomes even more important during a military, political, or economic conflict. If an IoT device depends on foreign-controlled cloud services, remote diagnostics, undocumented support access, shared credentials, or manufacturer-managed firmware updates, the device may become more than a convenience tool. It may become a potential attack vector.

In a worst-case scenario, vulnerable or remotely managed IoT devices could be used to monitor locations, disrupt operations, collect sensitive data, pivot into internal networks, disable equipment, or create confusion during a larger cyberattack.

This concern is not limited to one company or one country. Any IoT device, from any manufacturer, should be evaluated based on its security architecture, transparency, update process, remote access model, data handling, and supply-chain exposure.

A smart device may be inexpensive to buy, but very expensive to ignore.

Convenience Often Comes Before Security

Manufacturers are under pressure to release products quickly and make them easy to use. Unfortunately, that can lead to poor security decisions, such as:

• Default, shared, or hardcoded passwords.
• Weak remote access controls.
• Cloud services that are not properly segmented.
• Inadequate firmware update processes.
• Limited logging or audit history.
• Poor separation between one customer’s device and another customer’s device.
• Remote support features that users cannot fully control.

For organizations, this is a serious risk. A forgotten camera, printer, smart TV, door system, VoIP phone, thermostat, or connected appliance may become the easiest way into the network.

What Organizations Should Do Now

Every organization should treat IoT devices as part of its cybersecurity program, not as afterthoughts. A practical IoT security plan should include:

• Inventory every connected device. You cannot protect what you do not know exists.
• Change default passwords immediately. Use strong, unique passwords for each device.
• Keep firmware updated. Many IoT vulnerabilities are fixed only through manufacturer updates.
• Segment IoT devices from critical systems. Cameras, printers, smart TVs, and access systems should not sit freely on the same network as servers, accounting systems, or workstations.
• Disable unnecessary remote access. If a device does not need to be reachable from the internet, do not expose it.
• Use firewalls and access rules. Control what each device can talk to.
• Monitor traffic. Unusual outbound traffic can indicate compromise.
• Evaluate vendor risk. Understand where the device is designed, manufactured, supported, and cloud-managed.
• Determine what data is stored and processed. Understand whether the device collects credentials, location information, camera footage, audio, usage logs, telemetry, or other sensitive data.
• Ask where data is stored and processed. Location data, camera feeds, credentials, and telemetry may create privacy and security concerns.
• Retire unsupported devices. If a device no longer receives updates, it may become a permanent risk.

How CDML Can Help

CDML Computer Services helps organizations identify, secure, and manage the technology that keeps them running. That includes reviewing and managing network design, firewall rules, Wi-Fi configuration, device inventory, endpoint protection, patching practices, cybersecurity policies, and remote access controls.

For organizations using cameras, printers, VoIP phones, smart office equipment, medical devices, access control systems, or other IoT devices, CDML can help identify whether those devices are properly isolated, updated, monitored, and protected, and help remediate the issues when they are not.

Final Thoughts

IoT devices can improve productivity, safety, and convenience, but only when they are deployed responsibly. A connected device should never be trusted simply because it came from a well-known vendor or appears to be working normally. Every smart device is a potential doorway into your organization.

The right approach is simple: know what is connected, limit what it can access, keep it updated, evaluate vendor risk, and monitor it carefully.

Need help evaluating the security of your connected devices and network? Contact CDML Computer Services today.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay compliant.

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