Locks vs smartlocks

[rslade]

Locked into a "new technology" IoT mindset?  Best shake loose.

A landlord in New York decided to replace physical locks, with physical keys, with a smartlock.  The tenants objected.  And sued.  And won.

The tenants complained about the need to buy cell phones to gain access, and create profiles, and possibly be subject to usage data collection.

(I have having to use machines that think they are smarter than I am ...)

[dcontesti]

Good for them.  As an older lady (I sometimes feel older than dirt), I consider myself fortunate that I had a career in Computers and understand things to a degree.  As I look around, I see folks in my age group that "as my son refers" to them are not computer people.

Some of them are still using old phone technology if they have cell phones (they work, why replace them) and they may also not have the money for newer tech.

Forcing folk to use IoT is a double edged sword but as the article points out can cause some folk angst.

Unfortunately this really is not an older person issue as I have seen some younger folks who are not computer literate.  It is also highlights a number of issues around privacy.  Who is tracking the data, who is using the data, what are they keeping, what are they selling.

I think I will stay with a latch key until the issues are answered and resolved.

MHOO

d

[Steve-Wilme]

If you've seen the stories about smartlock IoT vendors snafus and failures I wouldn't install one at this juncture:

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/8/15/16151798/lockstate-6i-software-update-break-lock

https://smartlockpicking.com/tutorial/my-smart-lock-vendor-disappeared/

People buy tech for convenience.  Hmmmm.

[denbesten]

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@Steve-Wilme wrote:

... I wouldn't install one at this juncture...

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As you do  your risk analysis, you might consider an IoT-free keyless entry.  I have the Schlage FW595, for which I determined the primary risk being kids giving the code to friends.  I considered this a reasonable trade-off to reduce the risk of kids losing a key and locking themselves out.

From the article....

The company says, "... for some we need to get their locks back for a reset, and then ship it back out to them."

This does not inspire confidence in the company's concern for my security.  Perhaps they ought to ship a replacement first and then sell the ones that are returned as "refurbished".  And yes, I presume the mechanical key continues to work.

For those CISSP candidates following along at home, using the mechanical key is "business continuity" and installing the new lock is "disaster recovery".

[Api]

Hahaha, that's so funny. In the era of technology, we are afraid to install smart locks. How are we going to progress if we don't want to use modern phones and digits? I had my August smart lock installed back in 2013, and since then, I have been their loyal customer. The market had a deficit in expertise among smart locks and only locksmiths sw5 helped me.