Designing a smart home involves more than just buying the latest Internet-connected home appliances or AI-powered gadgets for convenience and comfort. Ideally, it should be about integrating human-centric technology to create an efficient and energy-saving system that’s safe and secure. And yet, many home devices are found to have security vulnerabilities and potential risks within their respective systems. A 2025 IoT security landscape report revealed that the average connected household is under constant cyber assault, facing nearly 30 attacks every 24 hours. The findings indicate that home electronics have become prime targets for data breaches, ransomware, and network disruption.
With threat actors looking to cause chaos, extort money, or commit financial fraud, there’s no such thing as being ‘too safe’ when it comes to your connected devices. Here’s how to protect your smart home from attackers, and keep your family and sensitive data safe at all times.
Change Default Passwords
Cybercriminals often use the same tactics such as social engineering, phishing, and stealing passwords because they’re cost-effecient yet highly effective. When targeting smart homes, one of their commonly used strategies is scouring the Internet for default credentials that come with connected devices. Since most homeowners neglect to change the factory-set passwords, they inadvertently create pathways that leave them vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to a recent survey, 86 percent of respondents have never changed their WiFi router’s default password, which give hackers the perfect opportunity to control appliances remotely, redirect users to malicious websites, or conduct ransomware attacks.
Most ransomware groups target large organizations for quick and direct financial gain through extortion. To prevent ransomware attacks, companies use cybersecurity tools to isolate the host to stop further spread and contain the breach before encryption begins. You can also defend your smart home from ransomware attackers by by installing antivirus and endpoint protection tools in your devices, but don’t forget to change the default passwords everytime you get a new smart appliance or home security device. When creating passwords, aim for 16 characters or more to defeat modern password cracking tools, and combine uppercase and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols.
Cover All Your Bases
Most of us assume that only certain IoT, such as routers, smart cameras and doorbells, and smart TVs are vulnerable to cyber attacks. However, experts have found that smart pet feeders have a flaw that allows hackers to gain control over the device and cause potential harm to pets. Even more disturbing is the fact that this vulnerability can also expose a pet owner’s personal information, including live video feeds sent to the cloud.
Your smart fridge can also be controlled by threat actors, as evidenced by the FutureSync breakroom fridge incident of 2013. The Melbourne-based company’s fridge reportedly started sending employees playful yet bizaare and oddly personal emails. At one point during a meeting, the hacker made the fridge ‘talk’ by taking over the voice assistant that it was connected to.
When building a smart home, never assume that certain IoT are safer than others. Cover all your bases by doing an inventory of all your connected appliances, then after changing all the default passwords, update all their respective software to get rid of vulnerabilities. It’s also a good idea to have a separate network for all of your IoT devices to prevent lateral movement within your home’s system.
Disable Unused Access
If you’ve never checked the settings of your home devices, now would be a good time to do so, and you’ll want to see if they have access features that cybercriminals could take advantage of. Earlier this year, a Spanish engineer discovered that he has remotely taken control of more than 7,000 vacuum cleaners all over the world while trying to reverse-engineer his vacuum to see if it can be steered with a PlayStation 5 gamepad. The expert, who reported the vulnerability to The Verge, said that he was able to look and listen through all the vacuums’ live camera feeds, see room layouts, and even pinpoint cleaning status and device locations.
The accidental hack shows just how easily everyday connected devices can become cyberattack vectors. To lower your risks of becoming a cybercrime victim, turn off the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) feature on your connected devices, and disable remote management features if not needed. It’s also a good idea to change the alert word for voice activated devices in case an intruder breaks into your home to steal physical items and sensitive data. Instead of ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Alexa,’ use a short phrase that only your family knows.
Build a well-designed smart home system that is safe from cyber attackers. Consider these tips to create a secure network, and have a functional system that works for your family and lifestyle.
