Nest is a leading brand of smart home devices. The Nest Yale/Nest x Yale lock is one of the latest smart door locks that you can control from anywhere using an app or the web. From the app you can also check a timeline that tells you who unlocked the door and when. But how secure is the Nest X Yale lock?
Can the Nest Yale lock be hacked? Yes, it is possible, in some cases the Nest Yale lock can be hacked. The Nest Yale lock does have vulnerabilities that might end up messing up the door safety in some cases. The Nest Yale lock can also be accessed with pre-existing passcodes. It is also possible that hackers can access the Nest Yale lock through the Wi-Fi network that it is connected to.
The Nest x Yale is a part of Nest home collection which means it will fully work with other Nest home products that you have installed. Even though the chances are very small of this door lock being hacked, below we discuss some points to consider before committing to the Nest Yale lock for your home.
How secure is the Nest x Yale lock?
The Nest x Yale lock can replace your existing deadbolt. This keyless smart-lock system comes in with a secured outer layer with oil rubbed polished brass. Before installing this smart lock, take a look at the instruction book that comes with the package.
It’s important to check the compatibility of your door and deadbolt before you buy any smart lock. Most wood, glass and metal doors are fine with this home product. The x Yale lock uses four standard AA-batteries for power. When the batteries begin to die, the app will alert you to change the batteries.
But don’t worry, batteries typically will last around a year. You can also check refer to the lock’s keypad screen to get more battery information and power levels. A red color battery level will display if the battery is low.
Usually, when you ignore this warning, you will get another when the batteries are at the critical power level. If the batteries die don’t worry, you can still unlock the door by entering your password in the lock’s emergency mode. This smart lock uses a backup 9V battery for emergency access.
Check this video on the Nest x Yale smart lock battery at the bottom side of the device.
The Nest smart lock technology doesn’t connect directly with your WiFi. Instead it uses a wireless connection to your smart home hub. Either you need a ‘Nest connect Module’ for general WiFi connectivity or a NestGuard which will enable remote access. Installation of this smart lock is very simple just like any other smart lock.
There are some extremely notable considerations against this smart lock. As we said already, in some cases people found that their door locks were still accessible by pre-existing passcodes from the factory. Generally, during installation you will set a four to eight digit passcode for this smart door lock, but some people found the default code still worked even after changing it. Not only door locks, but any smart device also has the risk of security breaches.
Despite a smart locks increased functionality these vunerabilities have led most people to keep their old locks and not convert their home just yet. There is no remote way to hack a good old fashioned door lock and sharing keys can sometimes be easier than sharing access to an app or any other kind of access that you may need to give to guests.
When a user asked “Does this require WiFi?“, Google support replied The Nest x Yale lock does not require Wifi to work. It will function as a keyless entry (passcode) even without WiFi.
Vulnerabilities in the x Yale smart lock might end up creating new worries for some people. The batteries may die when you are away from home. Also since the lock is directly connected with the Google cloud you are exposed to risk that Google cloud services may go down. Lastly, if you leave your phone somewhere, anybody can access your Smart lock if they are able to get into your phone.
If someone hacks your mobile phone without you knowing then they will be able to open your doors at any time. These are just a few of the most important things you should consider before purchasing a Nest x Yale lock for your door.
Security
Once I lost my keys to my house and after that experience I found myself checking my pockets every ten minutes for my keys. With a smart lock this is never the case as you can always access your door with the passcode.
Even sweeter, a smart lock can allow you to access your door completely key free. We have gone over many reasons why you may not want to get a smart lock, now let’s discuss how you can secure your smart lock to feel safe and get access to all the great benefits of having one installed in your door.
The door to your home is extremely important and not a place you can be experimenting with security. If you want to save your door locks from being hacked, the first thing you should rule is ‘know the security’. You should have an understanding of the security algorithm a lock uses before you purchase a smart lock.
The Google Nest x Yale is a key-free solution to the deadbolt lock. As long as it has an active connection with the Internet, you will be notified when someone unlocks your door. Here is what Google said about security (you can check Google’s official page).
Chances of Nest x Yale lock to be hacked
One of my friends told me that “Nest x Yale lock is the most sensible smart home gadget I’ve ever used“. Now that doesn’t mean it is the best by any means. Along with Nest, August and Schlage encode are also top brands for smart home gadgets and they have seen no major security issues.
There are two major varieties of smart locks. The first is the Keypad or Combination lock and the second is fingerprint or Biometric locks. Nest x Yale Lock with Nest Connect is a keypad lock that allows you to program code or combination to use when unlocking your door.
If you enter the right combination, an electrical current boosts the lock bolt to unlock the door. Most combination and keypad locks use numbers, letters, or a combination of both.
These keypad locks will, much like most smart phone lock screens, will take a few unsuccessful attempts before temporarily blocking more attempts to unlock the door.
Biometric locks have the unique feature of capturing the person trying to unlock the door like a fingerprint, retina, shape of the face (Face-lock) or even the voice of the person. But the most common method for these biometric locks is the Fingerprint method.
How Nest x Yale can get hacked?
When a smart door lock is installed, it is just as safe as the regular door lock. With some authentication features like a combination key code, face lock, and fingerprint they are much safer than the regular keys.
But the vulnerabilities stem from the connectivity of the device as well as the programming. If the smart lock software is released with a vulnerability, or if the encryption algorithm for the door lock pattern is weak then someone can access your door. Unfortunately, like any other connected smart device, smart locks can have vulnerabilities when they are programmed incorrectly.
A white hat hacker created an experiment and found that 7 out of 10 people had a very poor password or security pattern on their lock that allowed them to be hacked easily. Shockingly, even Amazon sells affordable tools that can be used to hack smart locks. You may be wondering, what are some ways you can avoid your smart lock being hacked?
The tools or gadgets that are available on Amazon are Bluetooth friendly devices. Some plain text passwords can be easy to hack. A lot of people just use their first or last name as the security code. These things are what enabled an entry-level hacker to hack 7 out of 10 smart locks.
Back in 2016, Rose tested some smart locks and said that four smart locks were easily cracked by replay attacks. This method allows hackers to delay the unlocking time more than usual to access the passcode to the victims network. Since the data has already been sent, the hacker can access everything you are trying on the keypad. Either he can steal the passcode or even he can command the smart lock to stop responding to the owners.
There is another hacking method called Device spoofing. The act of disguising a communication from an unknown source or device as one from a trusted source. This can be in the form of emails, phone calls or IP addresses. A command from a trusted source can be used to enter the lock code to unlock it.
Here is what Google said to Nest users after a security breach. Google warns Nest Users to update security settings after Nest security cameras were hacked.
Owners of Nest security cameras received an email from Google to secure the login credentials. Google suggested considering two-factor authentication to make it more secure and avoid someone remotely accessing their home camera system.
This communication was sent out after a creepy incident happened with a family. Two strangers hacked their device and broadcasted abusive language through the camera’s microphone into their living room. As a response to this Google added, “a few more easy tips you can do to secure your Nest safer“.
Nest released a statement that Nest’s system was not breached but instead hackers used the victim’s passcodes to unlock their device. As always, a strong password is recommended to stop the incidents.
How to protect your Smart Lock from being hacked?
As we outlined above, the whitehat hacker tried to hack smart door locks but he failed to unlock three out of ten. The common things that he found he couldn’t hack were true AES encryption, strong passwords, and 2-factor authentication.
Google and Nest are confident about this x Yale lock’s security, but here are few things to remember. All smart locks work on similar algorithms. They might change the encryption and passcode segmentation. So, while some smart locks are unlikely to be hacked, any top brand’s smart lock can be hacked.
Instead of looking for cheap alternatives, Nest x Yale is a good option to secure your door and home. But to make sure that you are safe here are a few tips you can follow to properly secure your smart lock.
Make sure that the smart lock uses at least a minimum 128-bit AES encryption for all its communication. Two-factor authentication is the most secure way you can follow though you may find it cumbersome to two factor every time you want to access your door. You can also set a pin code in addition to a voice command.
- Always use longer passcodes and complex combinations. A smart lock should allow the use of long passcodes that are more than 16 characters. Smart locks with shorter passcodes are more exposed to hackers. In hacking terminology, a brute force attack is a popular term that a hacker uses to try a variety of possible combinations to hack the passcode. Shorter passcodes are much more vulnerable to brute force attacks.
- Check the updates for your apps and software regularly. Because in most of the cases, apps on these devices won’t update automatically. If you have the older version of the software, you can be in trouble. It is the easiest way to open the risk of a security breach. Always try to keep your apps updated to ensure they are safe and secure.
- ANSI Grade: The ANSI (American National Standards Institute) grade is based on a system to determine the security level of hardware. There are some specific tests that locks must perform before going to sale while being ANSI certified. This grade rates the security, quality, and durability of a lock. Grade 1 is the highest level of residential security which means a lock can at a minimum last through 1 million opening and closing cycles. Grade 2 is an intermediate level of durability meaning that a lock can resist 800k opening and closing cycles and can withstand at least 5 strikes of 75 pounds-force.
How do you reset the code on a Yale door lock?
There might be times when you need to factory reset your Google Nest x Yale to resolve some issues like an unresponsive keypad, connectivity issues or a forgotten passcode. If you are shifting your home or moving your lock to another door, it is recommended to do a factory reset. Here is a detailed instruction to reset the Nest x Yale for android and iOS users.
Does Nest x Yale lock work with Google Voice?
Yes, the nest x Yale lock supports voice commands through a Google Assistant with the Google Home app on your android or IOS phone. You can tell your device to check the lock as well as check whether the door is properly locked or not. However, you can’t directly command your Google assistant to lock the door.
When you are giving commands the Nest x Yale is not directly receiving these commands. Instead, you’re speaking to one of the devices like Google Home, Google home hub, your iPhone, or Nest Guard. Voice commands enable. you to ask questions like ‘hey Google, is the door locked?’.
Note: You can’t unlock your door using voice commands. For safety precautions, Google and Nest don’t support voice commands to lock or unlock your door from Google assistant to prevent unauthorized people from unlocking your door.
When you are away from home or when you are late at work, you can easily check whether the door is locked or not from your phone. This is useful when you leave for the office in and rush and want to make sure that your door is properly locked. All you need to do is to ask the Google assistant whether the door is locked or not.
Even through most connection uses, the lock remains secure and all of the passcodes remain safe and functioning. However, two-factor authentication is recommended for better security.
And, as always you want to make sure that not only is your smart door lock secure, but also all of your other smart home devices are secure as well. To learn more about securing your smart home you can check out my guide here.
