Walk through your home and count the things connected to your WiFi. Your phone and laptop, obviously. But also: the smart TV, the streaming stick, the Ring doorbell, the Alexa on the counter, the Nest thermostat, the kids’ tablets, the connected baby monitor, maybe a smart refrigerator if you went through a phase.

The average American home has more than 20 connected devices. And most of them were designed to be convenient first and secure approximately never.

Welcome to the Internet of Things — the collection of internet-connected gadgets we’ve quietly filled our homes with — and the security nightmare that comes with it.

How Bad Is It?

Pretty bad, actually. According to a 2025 Bitdefender and Netgear report, connected homes face an average of 30 attempted attacks per day. In December 2025, hackers compromised 4.2 million smart TVs and used them to launch a coordinated attack against a major cloud provider.

Still think your smart TV is just a TV?

The problem is baked into how these devices are made. An estimated 35% of consumer IoT devices ship with default usernames and passwords — think “admin/admin” or “admin/password” — that are publicly known and never changed. Streaming devices, smart TVs, and cameras account for more than half of all known IoT vulnerabilities.

What Can a Hacker Actually Do With Your Smart Devices?

Your smart devices can become:

Spies. A compromised camera or baby monitor lets someone watch your home. Smart TVs with built-in cameras and microphones have been used to eavesdrop on families. This isn’t paranoia — it’s been documented in multiple cases.

Attack platforms. Your hacked router, smart TV, or thermostat can be recruited into a botnet — a network of compromised devices used to attack other targets, send spam, or mine cryptocurrency. Your device becomes a weapon pointed at someone else’s systems, all while sitting quietly on your shelf.

Entry points. If a criminal can compromise a connected device on your network, they have a foothold inside your home network. From there, they may be able to reach your computers, your shared files, or your other devices. Your smart lightbulb becomes a bridge into everything else.

The Fixes

The good news: the most impactful fixes are simple and free.

Change Default Passwords Immediately

The single most important thing you can do. Every device that has a login — router, camera, smart doorbell, baby monitor — comes with a factory default password. Change it the day you set it up. Use a strong, unique password (and store it in your password manager).

If you bought a device years ago and never changed the password, do it today.

Put Smart Devices on a Guest Network

Your router likely supports a “guest network” — a separate WiFi network that can’t communicate with your main network. Put your smart home devices on it. Your phone and laptop stay on the main network.

This means if your smart TV gets compromised, the attacker can’t hop over to the network your bank accounts and work laptop are on. I’ve written about this in my home router post.

Keep Firmware Updated

Firmware is the built-in software that runs your devices. Manufacturers occasionally release firmware updates that patch security vulnerabilities. Most devices can be configured to update automatically — enable this in the device settings. If there’s no automatic update option, check periodically.

Think Before You Buy

Before purchasing a new connected device, ask: does this thing need to be connected to the internet? A smart refrigerator that sends you alerts is convenient. It’s also one more device with a default password and an attack surface. Sometimes a dumb appliance is the secure appliance.

Audit What You Already Have

Pull up your router’s connected device list (log into your router admin page — usually at 192.168.1.1) and see what’s there. You may discover devices you forgot about, or devices a previous owner of your home connected. If you don’t know what it is, change the WiFi password — anything you care about will prompt you to reconnect, and you’ll know to deal with the mystery device.

Bottom line: Your smart home is only as secure as its least-protected device, and most IoT devices ship with almost no security out of the box. Change default passwords, isolate smart devices on a guest network, keep firmware updated, and think carefully about what you actually need connected to the internet. Your Ring doorbell should be watching for intruders — not welcoming them in.