Forensic Analysis of the August Smart Device Ecosystem

Smart Homes are becoming increasingly popular with homeowners investing in new internet-connected technologies, from smart plugs to smart appliances. One particular area where homeowners use smart devices is at the front door, as they install smart doorbells and smart locks. In this paper, we embark on an investigative journey into the August smart device ecosystem, specifically looking at the interaction between the August Smart Doorbell Pro and the August Smart Lock Pro, with their controlling app, August Home. We aim to determine what type of data forensic investigators may be able to recover about these devices and their use. We also explore how these devices interact with each other, noting any privacy issues that may be discovered. We found that a wealth of forensic data could be recovered, particularly from rooted Android devices and jailbroken iPhone devices. Information about the owner of the smart device, guests who were given access to the devices, device interactions, and pictures taken by the doorbell camera, were all recoverable in plaintext. Our results also show that user's GPS coordinates associated with the lock's Auto-Unlock feature were recovered only from a rooted Android device.

I. Introduction

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are being made to generate, interact, and share data with each other. However, there is an important question to ask: How well do these devices maintain or protect user data or privacy during their operations? One of the most popular smart devices homeowners now employ is the smart doorbell camera. According to recent statistics in [1], the global smart doorbell market size will grow by 2.63 billion USD during 2019-2023. These devices allow users to see who is at their front door without having to open the door physically. It also sends alerts to users when motion is detected, provides 2-way communication, and some even record the moments leading up to a motion detection event.