The AKITA Smart Home Station is a network monitoring product that aims to protect smart home devices from attackers and malware. HighIoT, a manufacturer behind this product, highlighted the fact that there has been a substantial increase in attacks on smart home devices in recent months and the privacy and security of users are affected once smart home devices are compromised by attackers. The AKITA Smart Home Station, the tech firm claims, has been developed to address the security issue of smart home devices, and it is capable of protecting a wide range of products including smart TVs, smart cameras, smoke detectors, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
In order to secure smart home devices from attacks, the AKITA Smart Home Station utilizes the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) security method. This method analyzes the network traffic to ensure that smart devices only connect to the appropriate IP addresses or servers, and it can automatically detect changes in the flow of the network traffic. Unlike the Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) method that is utilized by other competing systems, the IPS method that the smart home station uses does not scan the data traveling on the network. This further ensures that the privacy of the homeowners is protected, the product designers emphasized. In order to better protect the homeowner, the device developers also noted that the smart home station takes advantage of custom machine learning algorithms that learn the habits and security needs of the homeowner. The tech firm also noted that users can track network activity, check data speeds, and identify devices on the network through the AKITA app, which could be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
For consumers who are interested in the AKITA Smart Home Station, the tech firm is still offering one unit of the device for $99 on Indiegogo, while two units of the product can be purchased for $179. Consumers also have the option to pay for a subscription plan which allows users to get help from experts from Axius. The tech firm estimates that the optional subscription plan could cost between $15 and $29. HighIoT noted on the Indiegogo page for the device that the units are expected to start shipping by June 2018.