I was reading this article this week and really haven't worked out what I think about my equipment.

https://interestingengineering.com/a-casinos-database-was-hacked-through-a-smart-fish-tank-thermometer

I do not like the google home or Alexa devices and won't have them in my house. Just my personal preference and I know that a lot of people really like them.

But, I have added a WiFi plug to my outdoor lights and I am considering adding others because I like the program ability.

What I can't get clear in my mind is how exposed my WiFi and other tablets are with these. These things know my WiFi information - do they provide an access to hackers?

You should absolutely be concerned:

https://lifehacker.com/we-ve-brought-these-stupid-internet-of-things-hacks-u-1793313692

Well this sounds like a win-win.

Quote:

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For example, the We-Vibe sex toy recently reached a $3.75 million settlement after researchers found that it illegally collected data without user's consent. That breach of privacy was only discovered because security researchers located a software flaw that could allow a hacker to remotely control the vibrator. They then discovered that user preferences and statistics were sent to We-Vibe's servers.

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There are a couple of ways your IoT devices could expose you to hackers.

First, if you have uPnP enabled on your router, devices inside your network can automatically notify it that they need ports forwarded to themselves. This exposes the device directly to the Internet, meaning anyone on it can reach out directly to your device. If there are any technical flaws with the device, then this is a method Bad Guys can use to get a foothold into your network.

The second method is if your device communicates securely with the company's back-end server infrastructure, but that is hacked. If a Bad Guy Crew were to get into someplace like Ring, then they would have access to all of the data that those folks collect.

Honestly, though, unless you are someone interesting then no one gives a **** about actually watching or listening to your mundane life. The far more likely outcome of your devices being hacked are 1) being part of a botnet used to attack other people on the Internet or 2) being conscripted into cryptocurrency mining.