Investigating the Privacy and Security of the SimpliSafe Security System on Android and iOS

• Published in: Journal of cybersecurity and privacy 2023-06, Vol.3 (2), p.145-165
• Main Authors: Hutchinson, Shinelle, Stanković, Miloš, Ho, Samuel, Houshmand, Shiva, Karabiyik, Umit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Android; Cameras; Criminal investigations; digital forensics; Evidence; Forensic sciences; Internet of Things; iOS; IoT; mobile forensics; Monitoring systems; network forensics; Privacy; Security systems; Smart houses; Smartphones
• ISSN: 2624-800X; 2624-800X
• DOI: 10.3390/jcp3020009

The emergence of the Internet of Things technologies and the increase and convenience of smart home devices have contributed to the growth of self-installed home security systems. While home security devices have become more accessible and can help users monitor and secure their homes, they can also become targets of cyberattacks and/or witnesses of criminal activities, hence sources of forensic evidence. To date, there is little existing literature on forensic analysis and the security and privacy of home security systems. In this paper, we seek to better understand and assess the forensic artifacts that can be extracted, the security and privacy concerns around the use of home security devices, and the challenges forensic investigators might encounter, by performing a comprehensive investigation of the SimpliSafe security system. We investigated the interaction of the security system with the SimpliSafe companion app on both Android and iOS devices. We analyzed the network traffic as the user interacts with the system to identify any security or privacy concerns. Our method can help investigators working on other home security systems, and our findings can further help developers to improve the confidentiality and privacy of user data in home security devices and their applications.