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Deck the halls (but secure the wi-fi)

New smart gifts join the home network on Christmas morning — usually with default settings.

Campaign art: festive lights over a connected home

The scam

Cameras, speakers, toys and TVs ship with guessable passwords and open features. Once one device is compromised, it becomes a foothold onto everything else on the same network: laptops, phones and the home security system included.

How to stay safe

  • Give gadgets their own network

    Put smart-home devices on a guest or IoT network so a weak toy cannot reach the family's computers.

  • Change defaults on day one

    Unique passwords, automatic updates on, and any remote-access feature you will not use switched off.

Shop with confidence

BlackCloak protects your accounts and devices so you can shop safely. Speak to our team about concierge cybersecurity.