IoT security vulnerabilities in home networks

A 2026 IoT Security Landscape Report, produced jointly by Bitdefender and NETGEAR, identifies significant security risks within home networks. The research, which analyzed 5.4 billion security events across approximately 10.4 million protected networks, found that the average household now contains 24 connected devices.

Smart TVs were identified as the primary source of vulnerabilities, accounting for 22.7% of observed issues. This is followed by smart plugs at 22.4% and network-attached storage devices at 22%. The report notes that 90.1% of detected attack activity involved reconnaissance, where automated tools scan networks for vulnerable devices.

Nearly 99.97% of observed vulnerabilities are linked to publicly documented flaws, often resulting from unpatched or unsupported hardware. Researchers warned that cybercriminals may use AI to accelerate attacks. Furthermore, compromised devices can serve as proxies, sensors, or footholds within a network. Some investigations suggest certain smart TVs may collect voice recordings, track viewing behavior, or monitor other network devices, even when appearing to be switched off. Additionally, some free smart TV applications have been found to use household connections to route third-party traffic for activities such as AI data scraping.