How to prevent your neighbor from hacking your Chromecast

Google Chromecast was born as a device to add Smart TV features to those that were not yet Smart TV, and with WiFi connectivity as one of the key features according to this approach. Now it has evolved and is more complete, and serves equally well on Smart TVs, but maintains WiFi connectivity as one of its essential features. And it is practical, as well as simple, but it is also a 'window' to possible attacks on the local network. But how can we prevent them from taking control of our Google Chromecast?

The simplest possible attack on a Google Chromecast is executed on the same WiFi network to which the device is connected, and simply by making use of the device's functions, which are not authorized. And if you have it connected to your home, with your private WiFi network, then this shouldn't happen. The problem comes when, for example, we are using a hotel's WiFi network or simply sharing a WiFi network in any area. If we do, any device connected to it is able to interact with the Mountain View company's device, even if the owner does not want it to, because Google does not enable any type of configuration to restrict the use of the device.

It is possible to isolate devices even if we use a shared WiFi network, whether it is public or open, so you can prevent anyone from using your Google Chromecast, even if they have their cell phone connected to the same WiFi network
To avoid having our Chromecast hijacked on shared networks, one of the best possibilities we have at our disposal is to take advantage of a computer to create a wireless access point secondary to the WiFi network to which it is connected, and in turn the Google Chromecast device and others (such as the cell phone or tablet with which we send content to the Chromecast). And to do this we have apps like Connectify Hotspot, probably one of the simplest programs that allow us this type of configuration within a local network. All we have to do is connect the computer to the network, and with this program create a secondary access point on which we will then connect both in Google Chromecast and the rest of our mobile devices.

What do we get with this? That the computer acts as a 'link' between the shared network, a public or open WiFi, and the rest of our devices. In this way, the configuration of the local network would be 'insecure' until the connection with the computer. And yet, by creating an access point with a secondary WiFi network, we will have an isolated network that encrypts the connection between the computer and our devices, and also prevents unauthorized access to our devices, including Google Chromecast. Ideally, of course, Google would allow you to restrict the control of your Chromecast devices despite the fact that you share a WiFi network, but this alternative solution complies with this.

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Luigi Nori

He has been working on the Internet since 1994 (practically a mummy), specializing in Web technologies makes his customers happy by juggling large scale and high availability applications, php and js frameworks, web design, data exchange, security, e-commerce, database and server administration, ethical hacking. He happily lives with @salvietta150x40, in his (little) free time he tries to tame a little wild dwarf with a passion for stars.