How secure is Smartthings cloud? Can I bypass it?

I am a wee bit concerned with how my cellphone connects to the Smartthings hub. I do not enter an IP address for the gateway of my home network, and I did not have to punch a hole in my firewall. That means I am reliant on a third party service, even if I dont pay for it. The documentation is not exactly clear as to what the “Smarthings Cloud” introduces as far as security vulnerabilities. It is also not clear if I can disable this cloud connection and function entirely through VPN to the hub.
So, I assume my Hub connects to the cloud, and my device connects to the cloud and they are able to engage in all sorts a magical configurosity. This is really cool, but my account contains the GPS location of my property, as well as the ability to unlock the front door. How secure is this connection through the cloud, and what is to stop somebody from hacking it and gaining access to my property?
My wife is a Security professional, and she is getting all twitchy about me using this solution without more information on what is happening in the cloud.

I moved 10 posts to an existing topic: New to Forum - Worried about Remote Access security

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