IoT adoption in the housing sector
Residential buildings are fast becoming technology estates.
Landlords, housing associations and property managers are increasingly reliant on IoT (Internet of Things) devices such as smart meters, CCTV, door-entry and access control systems, and heating and ventilation controls. Using technology like this means fewer site visits, faster fault detection, improved safety and better reporting.
If a system is deployed with weak security, an attacker may not need to breach your corporate environment first – they can start with the building systems themselves.
This matters because in housing, the impact rarely stays ‘digital’. Weak controls can expose personal data and undermine physical safety at the same time.
What tenant data is at stake?
IoT environments in residential buildings often handle, infer, or provide access to personal data, such as personal identifiers, CCTV footage and audio, access logs, behavioural signals, and device and network data.
This information can be misused for fraud and impersonation. It can also enable harassment and targeted crime, particularly where access data and CCTV are involved. If attackers gain a foothold in building systems, they may be able to move into wider networks and third-party services.
Typical IoT vulnerabilities in residential buildings
Most successful IoT compromises don’t rely on sophisticated techniques. They exploit predictable weaknesses that appear when devices are deployed at scale, across multiple sites, with multiple installers.
Common issues include:
- Weak authentication, including default credentials and poor admin access controls
- Unpatched firmware and long-lived devices with unclear ownership
- Insecure communications, including weak encryption and exposed management traffic
- Exposed Cloud dashboards and APIs, often due to misconfiguration or weak access controls
- Poor segmentation, with building systems sharing flat networks with other services
- Third-party installer access that is not governed, logged or removed
- Limited inventory, monitoring and lifecycle management, which delays detection and patching
These problems are precisely the types of baseline weaknesses that IoT security standards aim to prevent.
ISO 27404:2025, for example, sets out requirements and guidance on risks and threats associated with consumer IoT products such as connected smoke detectors, door locks and window sensors, and connected home automation and alarm systems.
Real risks and consequences
For housing providers, the consequences are many: regulatory exposure, tenant harm, operational disruption and reputational damage.
Connected CCTV, door-entry and building controls are high-impact targets because compromise can affect both personal data and safety. A breach involving CCTV, for instance, is a breach of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) as the footage allows data subjects (in other words people) to be identified.
Compliance pressures
Under the UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), organisations that process personal data must implement appropriate technological and organisational measures to ensure its security. As well as this obligation, operators of IoT-heavy environments should also consider:
- Privacy and security by design and by default
Building technology programmes should embed security decisions early, including access control models, segmentation, logging, patching and supplier controls. - DPIAs (data protection impact assessments)
Where processing is likely to result in a high risk to individuals, a DPIA is required. CCTV, access data and behavioural inference can readily push building systems into that category.
Regulatory expectations are also tightening through product security requirements and supplier accountability: the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 includes requirements such as statements of compliance and minimum security expectations for products in scope. Even where a specific device is out of scope, baseline security hygiene is increasingly treated as a minimum.
The takeaway is that if risks are foreseeable, you are expected to manage them.
How penetration testing strengthens IoT security
Many organisations start with vulnerability scanning and configuration reviews to identify security vulnerabilities. These help, of course, but IoT deployments in buildings tend to fail in the gaps between components: device-to-gateway, gateway-to-cloud, app-to-API, installer access and corporate network connectivity.
Penetration testing is designed to find those gaps and determines whether vulnerabilities can be exploited in practice. A well-scoped penetration test can:
- Map credible attack paths through building systems and associated services
- Validate authentication, authorisation and privileged access
- Confirm segmentation works in reality, not just on paper
- Identify data exposure across devices, storage, integrations and logs
- Assess Cloud dashboards and APIs, which often underpin building platforms
- Review third-party access routes and insecure support configurations
IoT environments also require specialist handling because the risk includes availability and safety. A competent approach prioritises controlled testing, clear rules of engagement and remediation guidance that operational teams can implement without destabilising essential services.
Pen testing solutions for your buildings
GRC Solutions can deliver targeted penetration testing across building systems, Cloud-managed platforms, mobile apps and supporting network infrastructure, with reporting designed for both technical remediation.
