Health care moves into the living room

Smart speakers can support home health care by helping people manage reminders, communicate with care providers and interact with connected medical devices. NIST’s new guidelines examine the cybersecurity and privacy risks that come with that role. Because these devices may capture personal health information in a shared home environment, the guidance looks at how data is collected, stored, accessed and shared.

Security measures the guidance highlights

The guidelines discuss practices such as encrypting sensitive data, limiting who can access devices and records, and separating health-related devices from other home network traffic. NIST also points to the need for clear setup guidance and ongoing software maintenance. The publication is intended for device makers, service providers and care organizations that combine voice assistants with health services. NIST published the guidelines in December 2025.