Once a burglar knows what system is being used, they can easily figure out which signals they need to jam. So, how can you protect your system? First, don’t advertise what system you own with its branded yard signs and window decals. 'If there are reasonable measures manufacturers can take to remediate this exploitable threat, then they should be obligated to update their systems and close this loophole.' 'If it becomes more well-known that burglars can trivially evade certain security systems, then it seems likely more wrongdoers will be able to take advantage of this flaw,' says Justin Brookman, CR’s director of technology policy. He says good quality professionally-installed systems offer these protection features, but not all DIY systems sold at retail do the same. Still, MacDowell adds that legitimate systems should offer jam detection, as well as encryption to prevent attackers from eavesdropping on these wireless signals. “The good news is that the intelligence required to evaluate a home security system and jam it with a specialized RF transceiver is beyond the capabilities of the vast majority of burglars,” says Kirk MacDowell, CEO of security consulting firm MacGuard Security Advisors.

Ultimately, most burglars’ preferred break-in methods are more likely to be low-tech. “And even if successful, thanks to SimpliSafe’s built-in detection, customers are alerted, and cameras are queued to record and capture evidence, during jamming attempts.”

“In order to jam a device, one would have to perfectly execute a highly nuanced protocol with devices specifically tuned and configured for this purpose,” says Gomes-Casseres. Glenn Gomes-Casseres, vice president of product and design at SimpliSafe, points out that these attacks are difficult to pull off in the first place. The deterrence value of an affordable home security system is proven in the market and “the industry has not experienced significant real-world intrusions due to replay or jamming attacks,” says Ehlers. In addition to the vulnerabilities related to jamming, Abode and Cove had a handful of small, lower-risk security issues that we found, which they did fix.īruce Ehlers, vice president of product development and engineering at Cove, adds that the residential security industry doesn’t see these types of attacks as a huge issue, with millions of these systems in US homes today. “Jam detection can create false positive alerts due to interference from other wireless devices, which might be why some brands opted not to implement the feature,” Garcia says. There may be a reason for their reluctance. Ring wouldn’t directly answer our question about whether it will add that feature to its system. Eufy said it would not add the feature to its system. Cove said it plans to add jam detection to its system next year, but likely as an optional feature. Manufacturers that don’t currently offer jamming detection were mixed on whether they would add it. SimpliSafe responded that it continually refines its jam detection algorithm and releases “security updates to safeguard our system against jamming vulnerabilities.” Abode pointed to the fact that it offers jam detection as a standard feature but did not address the jamming itself.

Cove said it is considering moving to encrypted sensors for a future version of its system and has “been monitoring whether the cost and complexity is justified by the threat in the field.” Ring said it has “implemented safeguards in our Ring Alarm system to help address wireless signal jamming, and we will continue inventing ways to help protect our customers,” but did not get more specific. Only Eufy explicitly said it will fix the jamming issue (the company plans to release a software update in early April). The systems our testers were able to jam are the Abode Iota All-In-One Kit, Cove Home Security System, Eufy 5-Piece Home Alarm Kit, Ring Alarm Security Kit (2nd gen.), and SimpliSafe The Essentials SS3-01.Ĭonsumer Reports shared its findings with the five manufacturers and asked each if it would update its systems to prevent jamming. It’s worth noting that any wireless device can be jammed, but there are methods and technologies that make it harder to pull off. That means a burglar can use a laptop and a portable radio frequency (RF) transceiver to block the signals from door/window or motion sensors and enter a home without triggering the alarm. In a series of new tests, Consumer Reports found that five popular DIY home security systems are relatively easy to jam. (Warning: the trailer is chilling.) The portrayed attack method is highly unlikely to happen in real life, but the scary scene might make you wonder just how tamper-resistant your own home security system is. If you’ve seen the latest Scream movie, you might be haunted by the scene of the killer disabling a home security system to get inside a victim’s house.

Abode iota vs simplisafe