Security Confrontation: Smart Locks Versus Dumb Locks
A secure lock is an essential component of home security, keeping unwanted intruders from pests to potential burglars. And while we certainly can’t knock out the classic deadbolt, some locks have a few more tricks in their sleeves than others. The new toddler on the block, the smart lock, has enough cool features to seduce everyone from Airbnb owners to tight-knit families. However, compared to a traditional lock, it can cause you more problems than you are willing to handle, at the cost of convenience.
Competition
Locks, smart or dumb, are designed to keep intruders and other unwanted people out, while at the same time letting in the right people without much hassle. Whether physical or digital, you still need some kind of key to access.
Traditional castles
Whether you want to call them dumb, traditional, or analog, regular door locks do one thing and one thing well: prevent things from getting inside. While the insides of traditional locks vary by manufacturer, security rating or locking mechanism, they are usually opened with the turn of a key.
Smart locks
Smart locks use what you have all the time: your smartphone. Whether you connect via Bluetooth, use geolocation to locate your home, or control the lock via a Wi-Fi enabled app, you can use your smart lock and smartphone together to open the door without a key. There are relatively few varieties of smart locks available, in part because of their newness and relative newcomer status to the market.
Smart locks are a future we are not quite ready for (yet)
When it comes to convenience, smart locks go beyond traditional locks. Expect to spend between $ 175 and $ 230 to catch one. Some smart locks can open doors through their respective apps, allowing you to grant access to people miles away. This convenience, combined with other cool features such as ‘temporary’ keys and geolocation-based auto-locking, make it the perfect lock for today’s IoT society. Unfortunately, they are just as insecure as the rest of the smart home technologies we use.
Smart locks are not only vulnerable to attacks from malicious users, they can be disabled by the company itself, depending on the software involved. Smart lock company Lockstate recently accidentally locked hundreds of its own locks due to a failed software update. Locks recommended by Airbnb for use by hosts prevented tenants from entering their temporary homes. When we asked a group of security experts if they would use smart locks themselves, we got mixed answers. Not the best sign.
Traditional locks work if you have an extra key
The easy access that a traditional lock provides is convenient if you have your own key. The number of options available to you when purchasing a traditional lock is virtually limitless, and you can find one that suits your security needs quite easily. Prices for traditional castles range from $ 20 to $ 100. Breaking a traditional lock is also more difficult than picking a smart lock. First, you need to be near a castle, not a computer miles away.
However, where the traditional lock fails, the smart lock beats it. If your friend wants to enter while you’re on the go, they must have their own key to unlock your dumb lock. If you cannot meet with them, you need to leave it in an inconspicuous place for them so that someone else will not find it (please do not leave it under the rug). This level of insecurity may be enough to keep people off of traditional locks, but a little planning (and an extra key or two at home) can usually solve this problem fairly easily.
Verdict: Smart locks are useful but not ready to go
I recently replaced the flimsy lock on my front door with a sleeker traditional bolt lock. Although I was considering a smart lock, I didn’t want to deal with the potential inability to break into my own home due to some hackers on the Internet, a company that was releasing a faulty software update . Also, explaining smart home technology to a homeowner would be another challenge, despite its docile nature.
While it makes sense to add smart devices to devices like light bulbs , clocks, or even security cameras, trusting a nascent and expensive security system to access your home is something you should avoid, at least for now. If you are serious about this “home of the future” business, then consider smart locks from a trusted brand of locks rather than a new-found startup.