Enabling Multi-user Controls in Smart Home Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) devices have expanded into many aspects of everyday life. As these smart home devices grow more popular, security concerns increase. Researchers have modeled the privacy and security threats for smart home devices, but have yet to fully address the problem of unintended user access within the home. Often, smart home devices are purchased by one of the family members and associated with the same family member's account, yet are shared by the entire home. Currently most devices implement a course-grained access control model where someone in the home either has complete access or no access. We provide scenarios that highlight the need for flexible authorization control and seamless authentication in IoT devices, especially in multi-user environments. We present design recommendations for IoT device manufacturers to provide fine-grained access control and authentication and describe the challenges to meeting the expectations of all users within a home.