Securing iot devices with limitations and limited budget, well try maintain flexibility.

[heartspeace]

Topic iot devices separated from Main devices within the home, but what qualifies as Main and what qualifies as iot and how to separate them when you don't have a switch that can tag packets? I also cannot run to land cables to the router or switches that I need to as each run through the house has only one Outlet and I can crawl through three layers of a house.

But to try to be concise: I have multiple routers I can use, they all have one cable with the exception of the router in the basement, that can connect to them from other routers. I know I could use a mesh system but I'd rather use 2.5 GB per second ethernet and save my money until Wi-Fi 7 comes out.

My question is really this, what devices qualify as iot devices because when I asked Google's AI they said everything but your phone, your desktop computer, your tablet, and your NAS.

They said every tv, xbox, playstation, door bell thermostat, motion detection, light bulbs, outlets, etc etc counts as an iot device. That's a lot of devices and it seems that that becomes the main Network and that the smaller Network basically boils down to devices that have personal information on them. Then the AI told me that I can connect the two using routes and using mdns and Google will still be able to recognize all of the devices across both Networks/ router/ subnets etc.

I just need a sanity check. I want to be secure but I don't want to spend thousands of dollars doing it. There's a good number of devices that can be sent to one router easily enough but then when there is a need to connect a personal computer, I don't have a second Outlet nearby for the ethernet and the Wi-Fi doesn't work on it so therefore I couldn't use it in that specific room. I can come up with a lot more examples but it just makes things very hard. I am love most of the iot devices are wireless, but there are quite a few that are not. Then there's the Voiceover IP which the initial recommendations were to put it even outside of the firewall which I have a problem with. Any advice help essential would be great. I have a background and networking etc, but when it comes to trying to separate every wi-fi/ethernet device in my house and isolate them without having the right switches so I could simply tag the traffic, makes this very difficult.
Thank you, HO

 

[L&LD]

First, Google's AI isn't worth using today. Try Bing Chat instead.

Secondly, you want your network which includes your PCs, NAS, and laptops/tablets that contain your personal information (including access to your information, i.e. banks, etc.) to be totally separate from the IoT devices for maximum security.

Thirdly, you want just as secure a network for the IoT devices with no access between the two networks at all.

Fourth, it doesn't matter which of these networks is smaller or bigger. That is an arbitrary number that has no bearing on the security aspects at all.

Anything you do differently than above isn't secure. Regardless of the steps you take. For a low/no 'budget'.

Yes, some IoT devices don't work well or at all like that. That's why I don't have any IoT devices. Biggest security risk you willingly pay to have in your home.

Note that the security of IoT devices isn't just an issue of isolating them from your main network, but also that they may be the source of compromised security on their own too.

 

[jasonreg]

FWIW I personally treat phones as IoT devices. Besides, I need my phone to interface with many of them.