Smart speakers, doorbell cameras, smart plugs, connected thermostats — most homes now have several IoT devices, and most of them ship with weaker default security than the phone or laptop you’d never leave unprotected. Here’s what actually matters for locking them down.
The Real Numbers Behind Why This Matters
This isn’t a hypothetical risk. A significant share of consumer IoT devices — roughly a third by recent counts — run outdated software with no practical way to update it, and even when an update exists, most owners never install it. More than a third of consumer IoT devices still ship with default usernames and passwords enabled out of the box, which is the single easiest entry point for anyone scanning for vulnerable devices. And a large majority of smart home devices transmit data to third-party servers without meaningful user consent, which is a privacy issue separate from the security one.
Change the Default Password — Every Device, Not Just the Router
Our home network security checklist already covers changing your router’s default password. The same rule applies to every individual smart device that has its own login — a camera, a smart lock, a hub — not just the router itself. Default credentials for common IoT devices are widely published and actively scanned for, which makes an unchanged default password one of the lowest-effort ways an outside attacker can get in.
Put IoT Devices on a Separate Network
Network segmentation — keeping your smart home devices on a network separate from your computers and phones — is one of the highest-value single steps available, and most home routers already have the feature needed to do it: a guest network. If a smart plug or camera gets compromised, keeping it isolated from your main network limits what an attacker can actually reach from there, rather than giving a single compromised light bulb a path to your laptop. See our guide on setting up a guest Wi-Fi network for how to actually do this.
Firmware Updates Matter Here More Than People Assume
IoT firmware updates patch real vulnerabilities the same way phone and computer updates do, but they’re the update category people forget exists, since most smart-home apps don’t push a visible notification the way a phone OS does. Check each device’s companion app periodically for a firmware update option, and prioritize this specifically for devices with a camera or microphone, since those carry the highest privacy stakes if compromised.
Read What the Device Actually Collects
Before buying a new smart device, a quick check of its privacy policy or a reputable review that’s already done that reading is worth the five minutes — some devices process data locally and keep it on your network, while others route everything through the manufacturer’s cloud servers by default with no local-only option. Neither is automatically wrong, but knowing which one you’re buying before it’s already installed is the useful part.
Is it really necessary to put smart home devices on a separate network?
It’s one of the highest-value single steps available. If a device gets compromised, network segmentation limits what an attacker can reach from it, rather than giving a single compromised device a path to your computers and phones on the same network.
Do IoT devices actually get firmware updates like phones do?
Many do, but the update process is far less visible — most smart-home apps don’t push a notification the way a phone OS does, so checking the companion app periodically for available updates is worth doing manually.
Are default passwords really still a common problem on smart devices?
Yes — a meaningful share of consumer IoT devices still ship with default usernames and passwords enabled, and those defaults are widely published and actively scanned for by attackers looking for easy entry points.