Wink is at the forefront of the fast-growing Internet of Things industry because our simple, intuitive platform can control hundreds of smart products from many of the world’s most trusted brands. We believe that the security of our platform is just as vital to its success. Here’s a look at how we think about security, the privacy of your information, and the Internet of Things space as a whole.
How Wink thinks about security
The Internet of Things is predicted to be one of the fastest growing technology industries in history. To remain a leader in this space, Wink must be a brand that people trust. That’s why we are investing heavily to make sure Wink is a leader in security.
While we’ve focused on making our platform secure from the start, keeping Wink secure is an ongoing process. We are building a team of top security researchers here at Wink and working with experts from around the globe to help us stay on top of the latest developments.
However, we want to do more than just make Wink a secure platform. We have the privilege of pioneering this exciting, fast-growing industry of connected products; it is our duty to give back. Our aim is to engage with the larger security research community, especially those sometimes known as “white hat hackers,” to continue making our products more secure. We want to share our security enhancements with outside developers of smart products, so that others can build upon it as well.
With all of this, our aim is to make Wink a brand that people know and love for being simple, intuitive, and—above all—trustworthy.
Where are we today?
We have built an internal security team and are working closely with external security experts and researchers. We use certification encryption for all personalized data transmitted by the app, require two-factor authentication for system administrators, and are regularly conducting security audits to ensure we meet or exceed best practices for security. We even built our platform to stay safe if someone manages to get access to your home network.
What does the future hold?
The Internet of Things is an exciting space. As with any rapidly evolving technology, however, it must be developed ethically. By working together to reinforce existing technologies and develop new ones—all while sharing with the community—we hope to make the connected world better for everyone.
We’re investing in three main areas to help stay ahead and push Internet of Things security forward:
- Communication
We aim for openness and transparency around the security of our products and the work we are doing. Here are just a couple of ways we’re planning to foster communication:
* Establishing wink.com/security where people can stay up-to-date on any issues affecting our products and learn how to resolve them
* Opening ourselves to feedback from the security research community by proactively reaching out and providing ways to keep communication open * Offering quarterly briefings with our brand partners on the status of our security program and its future plans - Proactivity
Although we’ve always made security a priority, we have to stay one step ahead. To do this, we are investing in the following: * Engagement with the security research community through active bug bounty programs and free pre-release product testing * Auditing of vendors in our supply chain to identify backdoors, malware, and vulnerable or outdated third-party libraries * Early identification of security issues through implementation of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), which includes code and architecture audits - Collaboration
We’re proud to be a leader in the connected home space and are paying it forward to improve the industry as a whole. We are contributing in a variety of ways: * Contributing secure firmware, app, and cloud code to open source projects so that other Internet of Things companies can leverage them * Implementing an “informed consent” approach to connecting smart products that will allow users to better understand and approve the network connections being made. * Helping to educate people about how the choices they make affect them, and how they can optimize safety while living in a connected world
If you are a Wink user, view more information about how you can help protect your home network.
If you are a security researcher, view more information about the Wink Security Reporting Program.