SECURITY &/OR ETHICS

In
SMART HOME
Anand Raj
B.E. Final year (Computing)
Int ak e -pt l 007822 08 (Le v e l 3)
Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology
Staffordshire University, Panipat-132103, Haryana
Email Id – er.anandraj@hotmail.com

Abstract: A “smart home” is a residential habitat equipped with computing and information technology which anticipates
and responds to the needs of the occupants, working to promote their comfort, convenience, security and entertainment
through the management of technology within the home and connections to the world beyond. This paper describes the
various security aspects and related ethical issues prevailing in today’s home. Home security system is vital to avoid
unnecessary stress and worry. Since securities is a major concern in today’s environment and people need a good and
secure do it yourself security system to be able to protect themselves from different threats, so this paper gives an
overview of what are the various security objectives & challenges of Smart Homes, ethical issues regarding smart homes
and future security prospects of Smart Homes.
Keywords - Ubiquitous Computing, Security, Challenges, Ethics, Futuristic Approach.

I. INTRODUCTION

In the ambient computing future, security promises to be the initial design feature that allows omnipresent systems
to protect personal information privacy. Today's even smaller computers are increasingly spreading in our
environment. Being available ubiquitously in the devices and appliances that we use every day, this embedded
computing power will increase their capacities. As the ubiquitous computing is improving the security issue is going
down.
Smart Home: This technology was developed in 1975, when a company in Scotland developed X10. X10 allows
compatible products to talk to each other over the already existing electrical wires of a home. All the appliances and
devices are receivers, and the means of controlling the system, such as remote controls or keypads, are
transmitters. In a smart house, environmental controls are regulated according to the time of day and whether a
particular room is occupied. Music and other entertainment can be easily controlled with the touch of a button. [1]
The main goals of smart home are as follows
 It enables human to remotely control of the house.
 It makes house to have a response for many actions. For example, when the owner enter to the house, it
lights the room which the owner in it, (an example of context awareness).
 Builds security system to save the house from the inside and outside accidents.
 It makes human able to interact with the house by simple interface

As discussed earlier the major attribute of this research paper is to throw the light on the security technologies
employed in today’s smart homes- the objectives and challenges for deploying security devices, how to overcome
those challenges, and the future security aspects of smart homes is discussed in the later section.

II. OBJECTIVE
There is an instant need of applying security measures in any home as knowing the home is protected provides peace
of mind for the people whether they are at home or when they are away from home. Security is important even if
there is an outstanding public safety agency (police, fire, highway patrol, etc.) in the area. But still it's important for
everyone to do everything possible to make their house secure rather than just relying on the outside help.
Taking in consideration the need of security, it has become very essential to design security systems which should
be reliable effective and economical. The home security system is act for same purpose to guide and economical and
a convenient security. [2]
2.1 Target Audience: Smart Home concepts are developed for home users who have a fast lifestyle and are always
sort of time.

III. CURRENT SECURITY MEASURES IN SMART HOMES

With the increasing need of security day by day, a lot of research has been done to overcome this need. In today’s
world there are a number of different technological marvels has been developed which boasts of providing best
security for a smart home. Nowadays smart home comes with a range of security devices such as security cameras,
fire/smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, GFCI’s, etc, which is to be discussed below.
a. Advanced Monitoring Camera:
In an impulsive world the need for home security camera is absolutely critical for keeping the safety of any family.
A home security camera system eradicates blind spots by capturing the footage of any unidentified people, thereby
protecting the most vulnerable places on the property. [3]

Fig 2: A typical home monitoring camera.

Unlike an alarm, a complete home camera system is almost impossible to disarm. Alarms sound during or after a
break-in, but a security camera system alerts you as soon as it detects unauthorized motion to prevent break-ins.
Video security cameras will help identify and apprehend guilty parties.
Some of the function performed by a typical home monitoring camera includes:
i. Night Vision Recording – Even in absolute darkness, these cameras record viewable
footage. So whether it’s a sunny morning or a stormy night, the house remains secure.
ii. Automatic Recycling Storage – This system routinely records over the oldest footage for
efficient video storage.
iii. Email or Cell Phone Motion Alerts – When a home surveillance system detects motion
on a property, it sends a message via phone or computer so the owner is constantly aware
of the safety of his home.
iv. Motion Detector Recording – It conserves hard drive space by recording only when
something is happening. This allows the owner to record more on a smaller sized hard
drive and eliminates the old-fashioned notion of searching through hours of footage to
find a few minutes of action.
v. Remote Viewing of Security Footage – Using a broadband Internet connection, the owner
can monitor his home in real time even on vacation. He can relax and enjoy his time
away from home with the peace of mind that comes with being able to watch live or
recorded video surveillance footage from his PC, laptop, or PDA.
 b. Smoke Detector
Smoke detectors are another type of home security sensor which is very efficient in saving the lives by monitoring
the owner’s home for the presence of fire. When fires occur they can spread very quickly and the people may not
have enough time to alert every other person in a home. Fire detectors let everyone know in a safe and efficient
manner that they must evacuate the premises. [4]

Fig 3: A smoke detector

c. Carbon Monoxide Alarm

These are safety devices to warn homeowners of potentially hazardous and life-threatening levels of carbon
monoxide in their home. Burning any fuel and/or operating a portable generator, charcoal grill, gas water heater, or
gas range or oven can create hazardous carbon monoxide levels. Levels can become life-threatening when an
appliance is malfunctioning or improperly vented. [5]
d. Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs)
The GFCI is a device that limits the risk of severe or fatal electric shock by interrupting the flow of the electric
current. GFCIs are used in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, garages, and outdoors. They are also be used with power
garden tools and electric tools such as drills and sanders. [6]

IV. CHALLENGES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

One of the biggest challenges faced while implementing security aspects in smart homes is the lack of standardized
or completely missing communication interfaces in home electronics. However this problem can be eased by using
adapters and converters, however each interface does limited functions and usually some functions remain
unavailable.
Another major challenge is to deal with hackers. Hackers can break-in the network and then they can turn off alarm
systems and lights, leaving the home vulnerable to a break-in, or the theft could be more electronic. If music is saved
on a hard drive so that it can be played around the house, then the owner have to make sure that sensitive
information, such as passwords or identifying numbers, are saved elsewhere.[7]
Another obstacle becomes practically apparent when installing networks and devices in older buildings. Even
wireless networks require power cabling and equipments need their own installation space. In cases like these it is
advantageous to use existing cabling (phone and power lines, cable ducts etc.) as much as possible. For energy
savings control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) would be a must, unfortunately in most
apartment buildings it is not possible to sufficiently affect the temperature inside a single apartment or even in a
room. Problems regarding how adding new devices should be worked out depend largely on the infrastructure used.

There is also a question of reliability as even today’s technology that is rushed onto the market is largely untested,
barely working and usually needs software updates right from the start. How can users handle with these kinds of
problems if they continue to spread to home appliances and control systems? This might require third party services,
possibly a caretaker or support company that assists users providing smart home security services and support.
From a human point of view the concept of smart homes is rather unfamiliar to the average user and this, together
with new technology may sounds like a nightmare to those people whole are not accustomed to computers which
often leads to worries and prejudice. The home is also considered a very private and personal environment, and
ubiquitous electronics and sensors that monitor and make adjustments can be seen as intrusive.
Other challenges worth mentioning include:
 Authentication is the major challenge through which we can distinguish between client, guest and intruder.
  Security issues are not limited privacy or confidentiality, they include physical safety
 Access control must be flexible enough to accommodate different roles including owner, family, friend,
visitor, maintenance/support, hostile, unknowns
 Smart homes will be incrementally deployed and their configuration will be moderately dynamic

V. ETHICAL AND PRIVACY ISSUES

Ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms
of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.
Smart home appliances also raise the big ethical questions about privacy. It's great to be able to check what’s going
on in your house anytime you want but is it not invading the privacy of a family member who is being monitored?
Thus when setting up a smart home, it's a good idea to discuss it with the whole family first.
The issue around privacy is a difficult one to tackle, even physically hiding or embedding sensors will not help if the
users know that they are being monitored in some way.
Another issue related to the ethics and privacy of the users is that if a home surveillance system captures the videos
and images of a home and sends it on the internet so that the owner can check it online. Then this data can be hacked
by any intruder which results in the exploitation of the privacy of that user.

VI. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The future of home security certainly looks very interesting- one of the advancements we can see in the future is
Security Checkpoints.
Futuristic security checkpoints are idea of the new checkpoints that will allow high traffic to pass through just as
anyone is walking at a normal pace. No more, waving a wand to get through checkpoints. These new checkpoints
can detect if any person have plans to set off a bomb before he even enters the building.
6.1 How does it work?
These security checkpoints (also called Future Attribute Screening Technology) are being developed by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. The system detects slight alterations in pupil sizes, blink rate and even direction
of gaze by the use of extremely advanced cameras. A laser radar called BioLIDAR measures heart rate and changes
between heartbeats. The BioLIDAR can also monitor a person’s respiration and track movements in the face, neck,
and cheeks. [8]
Given below is the table which distinguishes between the current and futuristic trends in smart home security
systems. Some of the appealing features are such as integrated solution using open architecture and standards.
Current Future
Affordable by high-end homes Standard features in every home
Vendor dependent Open Standards
Very expensive maintenance Zero maintenance
Not flexible and adaptable to new lifestyle Modular and expandable
Proprietary and standalone Integrated
TABLE I: Smart Homes, Current vs. Future

VII. CONCLUSION

This research work was a unique study which concentrated on finding out the security aspects in today’s smart
homes, various security devices and their advantages, what can be the challenges that the user would face, etc. also
the ethical and privacy issues are also discussed in this research paper. Then the researcher also throws light in the
future security technologies to come and their effect on human life. It would seem that the most desirable functions
of smart home securities are indeed various user interfaces that allow more flexible control of the home. The
security technologies should also contain learning and adaptive functions, which would gradually allow users to
leave some functions to the Home Controller. However as long as there are no compatible devices on the market it
seems that there is a long way to go before smart homes security really become commonplace.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Every assignment consists of a lot of hard work from the students and support from the teachers. I am very much
pleased to say that I have got a chance to write a research paper on security and ethics in smart homes. Firstly, I
would like to give special thank to our module lecturer Mr. Ankur Singla who gave us such a good assignment from
which I gained the practical knowledge of how to write an IEEE standard research paper. I am very much grateful to
Mr. Ankur Singla sir for guiding me throughout the assignment by taking the pain to nurture my skills and helped
me whenever I was helpless. I would also like to thank our director sir for providing us fantastic platform for
completing the assignment. We would also like to thank our truest and closest friends for their constant support and
goodwill. Finally we would like to acknowledge all those people who supported us in completing our assignment.

REFERENCES

[1] http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/smart-home.htm/printable.
[2] http://www.w3.org/2006/02/reynolds-paper.pdf.
[3] http://www.scribd.com/doc/36412186/Smart-Home.
[4] http://www.home-security-pro.com.
[5] http://www.selectsafetysales.com/c-5-carbon-monoxide-alarms.aspx
[6] http://www.home-security-pro.com
[7] http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/smart-home.htm/printable
[8]
http://techfragments.com/news/142/Tech/Futuristic_Security_Checkpoints_Know_What_You_Do_Before_You_Do
_It.html.