Smart homes are at risk because many IoT devices have insufficient security measures, making it easier for cybercriminals to access their home networks. This is the main conclusion of “The 2024 IoT Security Landscape Report”, jointly produced by Bitdefender and NETGEAR.
The study assesses the state of IoT device security in homes globally and raises awareness of the importance of maintaining adequate cybersecurity, especially in a context where the boundaries between home and work are blurred due to the hybrid work model.
This is highlighted in the Bitdefender and NETGEAR Report on the state of security of IoT devices in the world
Home networks and their vulnerabilities
The report highlights several important metrics, including the top exploited vulnerabilities, frequency, and type of attacks. Findings include:
- Smart TVs are the devices with the most vulnerabilities, representing 34% of the total, followed by smart plugs (18%) and DVRs (13%).
- 99.3% of IoT device exploitation attempts are based on known and fixed CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), underlining the importance of regularly updating and patching software.
- Buffer overflow techniques are used in 28.2% of IoT device exploitation cases, followed by denial of service (DoS) attacks in 27.2% and code execution attacks in 13.6%.
- Home networks face an average of 10 attacks every 24 hours, two more than the previous year.
- Each household analyzed had an average of 21 connected devices, most of which (49%) are devices that are not given much attention, such as treadmills, smart light bulbs or aquariums. Bitdefender warns that cybercriminals use scanners and automated techniques to identify vulnerable devices, so it is a mistake to think that some devices are not important enough to be attacked.
