Is DIY Home Security Safe?
It all begins with an idea.
Ring, Nest, Simplisafe, and other solutions have hit the world by storm. And for good reason. They are cheap, convenient, and very easy to setup. But have we traded convenience for safety with these one security solutions?
The Ring Alarm Pro system is about $300. For this, you get a wireless base device, four door/window sensors, a motion detector, and a keypad. For another $100 each, you can add a wireless doorbell camera and stickup cams to have eyes on other areas of your home. This system is highly affordable and works very well in Ring’s app, which is also very user friendly.
Wireless communication can be jammed. It is not cheap nor easy, but it can be done if the target is valuable enough and the thief is determined enough. In a very egregious case, a family was robbed for over 8 million dollars’ with of family heirlooms due to having a wireless security system. In another case, a bank was robbed for 30 million dollars. Thieves were able to get in and out of their “secured” facility without anyone noticing. This was most likely an inside job but the other glaring vulnerability was the wireless system they were employing for some of their cameras.
In conclusion, are the typical DIY home security systems worth it? Yes and No. Mostly yes if one does not have a high dollar amount of valuables in the home. But in the case of businesses and even homes with high dollar amounts of fungible assets as in the two cases, mentioned, We recommend a more robust, wired, air at minimum cyber-protected home security system. Read more about these two more robust options below.