Question:
I’ve successfully connected my Petoneer Fountain to Wifi and can interact with it through its app without needing a VPN. However, I’m concerned about its vulnerability to cyber threats. What measures can I take to bolster my Petoneer’s cyber defenses? Additionally, I own a VPN server at home. Could you advise on the adjustments required to shield my Petoneer from external visibility while ensuring it’s reachable through the VPN?
Answer:
IoT devices like Petoneer devices are designed for internet connectivity to offer features like remote access and cloud services, making them fundamentally different from LAN-only devices such as printers. Limiting them to LAN visibility compromises their core functionalities.
Unlike traditional devices, IoT devices rely on cloud servers for updates, control, and data analysis, necessitating secure internet connections. So the Petoneer devices are not like local printers, which are typically connect to a local area network (LAN) and are accessible only within that network unless specific configurations like VPN are used.
We understand the concerns about security and the interest in having IoT devices function similarly to traditional LAN-only devices, such as printers. However, due to the inherent design and purpose of IoT devices, restricting them to be only visible and operational within a Local Area Network (LAN) is not feasible without compromising their core functionalities.