The Bitdefender and NETGEAR 2025 IoT Security Landscape Report

The latest Bitdefender and NETGEAR IoT Security Landscape Report is out, and it shows that the digital siege against connected homes isn’t slowing down anytime soon. In fact, as the number of connected devices in our homes increases (the average home now has 22 connected devices), so do the risks. Bitdefender's Smart Home Security technologies stop over 12 million threats every day, based on data from 6 million homes and 58 million devices, and each home faces about 29 attacks every day.

Smart Homes are vulnerable

The research from Bitdefender and NETGEAR found that over half of all smart home vulnerabilities come from just three device types:

Streaming devices (26%)
Smart TVs (21%)
IP cameras (9%)

Streaming devices are extremely popular, and there are numerous brands and models on the market. However, as our researchers discovered, many of the cheaper or lesser-known models may come pre-installed with malware. Similarly, people typically keep their Smart TVs for 5-8 years, well after security updates have stopped. This means that Android or Linux systems that are heavily connected to home networks remain unpatched. Analysis of 13 billion intercepted network attacks shows that 93% are automated threats.

The report also outlines several alarming real-world cases:

Unsecured cameras have been exploited to stream private lives online, from homes and swimming pools to gym lockers and retail fitting rooms.
Router botnets like AISURU have launched record-breaking 22.2 Tbps DDoS attacks, proving that household routers are now part of the global cyber-offense infrastructure.
Factory-infected devices like those in the BADBOX campaign arrive preloaded with malware, silently turning consumers into participants in global botnets.

Why Protecting the Smart Home is a Big Opportunity for Telcos

For users, securing each connected device in their home is unrealistic. Most smart devices cannot be protected with traditional antivirus, and most attacks are automatic. They need protection built into their network, at the router level, and telcos are uniquely positioned to provide it. By incorporating network-level cybersecurity into their offerings, telcos can protect their customers while reinforcing their position as trusted digital guardians, expanding their brand, and generating new revenue.

The Bottom Line is simple: home cybersecurity is no longer optional; it has to be integrated in the connectivity service.

To find out more about Bitdefender’s cybersecurity products and services tailored specifically for telcos visit The Bitdefender Subscriber Protection Platform.